The commander of the Russian army, Valery Gerasimov, is facing increasing criticism in the wake of Russia’s invasion of the Kursk region in Ukraine.
According to a source close to the Kremlin, Gerasimov and other high-ranking officials ignored intelligence warnings two weeks prior to the offensive that Ukrainian forces were gathering near the border with Kursk.
Within a day of the operation’s commencement in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian army breached two defensive fortifications. Throughout the ongoing conflict, Russian authorities had reportedly spent 15 billion rubles on their construction.
The construction of two fortified defense lines in the Kursk region was first reported in October 2022, by the regional governor, Roman Starovoit, who is now the Transport Minister.
Ukrainian forces advanced approximately 10 kilometers into Russian territory, marking one of the most significant cross-border attacks in the conflict, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
The Russian military reported that approximately 1,000 troops and over two dozen armored vehicles and tanks were used in the assault on the Kursk region.
General Valery Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, vowed to halt the offensive and push Ukrainian forces back to the border on Wednesday.
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