According to him, the data show that Ukraine “for now intends to win this battle as best as it can”.
“They didn’t just launch a surprise attack, they launched a complete surprise attack. They surprised the Russians, they surprised the Western supporters,” said M. Clarke.
In the current circumstances, the shock value of this unexpected attack “works in favor of Kiev”. The analyst noted that the Ukrainians are “obviously very happy with where they are,” noting that the Ukrainian military has advanced at least 56 kilometers across the front and about 24 kilometers in depth.
According to Mr. Clarke, Russia “will do everything to eliminate this pocket” because Vladimir Putin cannot allow the occupation of Russian territory. Therefore, in order to keep the occupied territories, the Ukrainians will have to further strengthen their group, which operates in the Kursk region, he believes.
The analyst estimates that Ukraine has sent three or four “high-level elite brigades” to the Kursk region, indicating that it is taking the operation seriously. Mr. Clarke is convinced that Kiev hopes to attract the best units of the Russian army to Kursk and reduce the pressure on the defense of Ukraine in other places.
There is some evidence that Moscow is already withdrawing its best units from southern Ukraine, especially from the districts of Chasiv Yar and Pokrovsk, says Mr. Clarke.
“The thought for the first time since 1941 to occupy a piece of their territory… Putin cannot allow that. So they (the Russians) will counterattack as hard as they need to, and this battle will be much more intense than in recent days,” the analyst predicts.
At the same time, Professor M. Clarke believes that the actions of the Ukrainian leadership are now paying off, because the longer the Ukrainian armed forces control Russian territory, the more difficult it will be to push them out of there.
Fighting in the Kursk region
It was previously reported that Russia acknowledged that Ukrainian forces had advanced at least 30 kilometers into its territory, marking Ukraine’s deepest and most significant advance since the counteroffensive in 2022. in autumn
According to the British broadcaster BBC, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that its forces engaged in a battle with Ukrainian soldiers in the area of the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez.
On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its troops “destroyed the attempts of enemy mobile groups with armored vehicles to penetrate deep into Russian territory.” At the same time, the Russians acknowledged that Kiev’s forces had made significant progress. Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez are approximately 25 and 30 km from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Footage posted online and confirmed by the BBC also shows fighting near the village of Levshinka, about 25 kilometers from the border.
Ukrainian troops have announced that they have captured several settlements in the Kursk region. Footage from the settlements of Guevo, Sverdlikovo, Porog was published on the Internet. There were also reports of heavy fighting in Suja.
Ukrainian troops have taken control of a large gas facility connected to the transit of natural gas from Russia to the EU through Ukraine. In the sums that border the Kursk region, BBC correspondents saw a steady stream of armored vehicles and tanks moving towards Russia.
The armored columns are marked with white triangular markings to distinguish them from the equipment used in Ukraine itself. Meanwhile, aerial photographs appeared showing Ukrainian tanks fighting on Russian territory.
Photos analyzed by BBC Verify also show Russia building new defensive lines at the Kursk nuclear power plant, with Ukrainian forces reportedly within 50 kilometers of the site.
Satellite images taken yesterday and images taken a few days earlier show several newly constructed ditches nearby, the nearest of which is about 8 kilometers from the plant.
Russia claims that 76,000 people have been evacuated from the border areas in the Kursk region. people. Local authorities have declared a state of emergency.
2024-08-13 05:27:36