8th day of the Russian mainland operation, 3km advance per day
Claims of “occupation of 74 Kursk villages”
‘△’ Mark on Military Equipment… Triangle Operation Called
NYT “Ground War Success through Cheating and Gambling”
On the 13th, Ukrainian military vehicles are moving in Sumy Oblast, northeastern Ukraine, bordering Kursk Oblast in southern Russia. The vehicles are marked with a ‘△’, indicating that they are Ukrainian military. After the Ukrainian military recently launched a large-scale ground battle in Kursk Oblast, the Russian military also launched a counterattack in Sumy Oblast, causing the region to suffer from war. Sumy = AP Newsis
On the 13th, the 8th day since Ukraine launched a ground war on the Russian mainland, the momentum continued unabated. The Ukrainian military claims to have occupied 74 villages in the Kursk region of Russia, and some analysis suggests that they have occupied in a week the area that Russia occupied in 7 months this year. There were also civilian casualties in the Belgorod region adjacent to Kursk, and Russia declared a ‘state of emergency’.
This ground war in Ukraine is being called a “counteroffensive,” but it is being evaluated as being on a different level from last year’s attack, which was not very effective. This is because they boldly pursued a covert surprise attack and achieved the result of occupying a considerable amount of Russian territory. However, since the Eastern Front is still weak, it seems that it will not be easy to gain an advantageous position in peace negotiations.
● “Ukraine, Russia control at least 800km²”
According to Reuters, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Sirsky said on the 13th that “they advanced 3km more in one day and took control of an additional 40km² of Russian territory.” Citing data from the U.S. think tank Institute of War (ISW), AFP also reported on the same day that “Ukraine is controlling at least 800km² (1.32 times the size of Seoul) of mainland Russia.”
According to CNN, the area of Russian territory (1,000 km²) claimed by Ukraine is equivalent to the Ukrainian territory (1,175 km²) that Russia seized this year. It is reported that about 200,000 Russian residents have been evacuated due to this ground war.
As Ukraine continues its campaign in Kursk Oblast, a state of emergency has been declared in the neighboring Belgorod Oblast. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Glatkov said in a Telegram message that day that “continuous shelling by Ukrainian forces has resulted in the destruction of houses and civilian casualties.”
There is also an analysis that the success of this ground war was based on Ukraine’s thorough security maintenance. The movement of troops was disguised as training, and some soldiers moved in civilian clothes instead of military uniforms. The soldiers deployed to the operation were also given missions only a few days before the ground war began, and even the United States only learned of the situation the day after the attack began. The New York Times (NYT) evaluated that “the keywords for the success of Ukraine’s ground war were deception and gambling.” Bloomberg News said that “Ukraine had long considered various possibilities to shock Russia, but did not share them with the West until the operation was well underway.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media X on the 14th, “We have advanced 1-2 km in Kursk Oblast,” and “We have captured 100 Russian soldiers.”
● “Peace Agreement Not Easy Due to Defensive Eastern Front”
It is also noteworthy that the Ukrainian military equipment deployed in the ground war has a ‘△’ mark engraved on it. The British daily Telegraph reported that “Ukrainian military equipment advancing to Kursk Oblast has a ‘△’ mark engraved on it without exception.” Some are calling this ground war ‘Operation Triangle’. It is similar to the ‘Z’ mark that Russia used when it invaded Ukraine to wish for victory.
In his speech that afternoon, President Zelensky revealed his intention to gain the upper hand in negotiations, saying, “We have repeatedly proven that we can seize the initiative in war,” and “We must make the most of this achievement. The more Russian troops we destroy in the border areas, the closer we will come to peace and security.”
However, it is uncertain whether this advance will lead to what Ukraine wants. There is also speculation within Russia that this attack has put negotiations out of the question. President Vladimir Putin also criticized the previous day, saying, “How can we negotiate with those who attack civilians and threaten nuclear power plants?”
There is also a view that this operation will not change the trend as Ukraine is still struggling on the Eastern Front. The British Financial Times (FT) explained, “It is not easy to pose an existential threat to Russia by occupying some Russian regions.”
Paris = Correspondent Jo Eun-ah [email protected]
Reporter Kim Yun-jin [email protected]
-
- great
- 0dog
-
- I’m sad
- 0dog
-
- I’m angry
- 0dog
-
- I recommend it
- dog
Hot news right now
2024-08-15 10:43:02