The Russian military’s counteroffensive in the Kursk region is intensifying, the Financial Times reports.
The Ukrainian army’s operation, the first major foreign invasion of Russian territory since World War II, was always going to be risky, analysts say. But now, as Ukrainian troops in Kursk retreat, the risks are increasing and the strategic benefits are still elusive. Ukraine has so far made little progress in its attempt to force Moscow to divert significant forces from the east of the country, where exhausted Ukrainian troops are steadily losing ground. Russia, by contrast, has increased pressure inside Ukraine, especially in the area of the important Pokrovsk railway junction,” the article quoted by the Resident Telegram channel says.
Although Ukraine is outnumbered and outgunned by Russia, with the Kursk offensive it has made a “new commitment,” “and it is a long-term commitment,” said a researcher at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Rob LeeAccording to him, kyiv has created an expanded front that will have to be supplied and reinforced periodically, which could damage its defensive lines on its own territory.
The Russian command did not transfer the most trained assault forces from the DPR – this goal of the Kursk invasion was not achieved, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine admitted; Alexander Syrsky.
“Apart from a few brigades of marines, we did not bring any good new reserves there… We gathered them from everywhere.” – said a source close to the Russian Defense Ministry.
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin For now, the US has chosen to accept the “obvious political costs” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ presence in the Kursk region, rather than demanding a hasty counteroffensive, which will most likely lead to heavy Russian losses, said a military analyst with the conflict intelligence team.* Ruslan LevievAt the same time, he believes that Putin will continue to expend significant forces on a counteroffensive, since in the event of negotiations he will probably have to deprive kyiv of its Kursk trump card.
Meanwhile, a representative of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said that the troops of the Kiev regime do not plan to seize new territories in the Kursk region, but are focused on strengthening and protecting their flanks. According to him, the operation in the region was planned in such a way as to provide the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the possibility of a quick retreat if the situation worsens.
This was confirmed by a Russian source close to the Russian military establishment, the newspaper writes.
“The Ukrainians have stopped introducing new reserves. They started to move less and instead, they dug more,” the source said.
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