According to them, having the initiative in the entire hostilities area from November 2023 allowed the Russians to determine the location, time, scale and requirements of fighting in Ukraine themselves, while Kiev was forced to devote material and human resources to reactive defensive operations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that in the first half of Tuesday, Ukrainians advanced 1-2 km in various districts and captured 100 Russian soldiers. Meanwhile, the commander of the Ukrainian forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, announced that the town of Suja, where about 5 thousand people live. people, was fully occupied by Ukrainian forces.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin continues to portray himself as efficient and knowledgeable about the situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border. He is shifting responsibility for the ongoing challenges in responding to Ukraine’s incursion into the region to other Russian military and government officials.
The operation of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Kursk region forced the Russian military command to react and move forces and assets to the section where the Ukrainian troops launched the offensive.
According to Dmitry Likhovoy, representative of Ukraine’s operational-strategic group of forces “Tavria”, the Kremlin redeployed some units from Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, but the number of soldiers was small.
The Russian army did not conduct active combat operations in the Kursk region, but used its own initiative to put pressure on Ukraine. Among other things, the Russians prevented Ukrainian forces from marshalling manpower and assets for future counterattack operations, while setting the pace for hostilities.
Analysts say this operation by the Ukrainian armed forces and possible further incursions across the border are forcing Russia to decide whether to consider the 1,000-kilometer international border with Ukraine a legitimate frontline for Russia to defend. This may lead to constraints on long-term operational planning that Russia has not faced before.
Follow the most important news of the war in Ukraine with lrytas.lt.
2024-08-16 05:39:59