Additional Coverage:
- Ukraine’s army chief says Russia planned to launch a new attack from Kursk, but he got there first (newsbreak.com)
A recent report highlights that Ukrainian forces have made a significant offensive move by invading the Kursk region in Russia on August 6, 2024, ahead of a planned Russian attack from that location. According to Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Col.
Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, this preemptive strike has forced Russia to redeploy its troops and halted its advances.
Images from Ukrainian-controlled Sudzha in Kursk show the operation’s impact. Syrskyi told CNN that the incursion has successfully curtailed a potential enemy offensive, as Ukrainian forces captured approximately 386 square miles in just a few days—comparable to what Russia has seized in Ukraine this year. He made these statements from an undisclosed front-line location.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that the goal was to create a “buffer zone” to prevent further Russian attacks. Syrskyi emphasized that the operation not only aimed to prevent Russia from launching a new offensive from Kursk but also compelled Russia to shift tens of thousands of soldiers, including elite airborne troops, to the region. As a result, Russian forces have not been able to make any advancement in the Pokrovsk direction for the last six days.
The operation also sought to prevent cross-border shelling of civilian areas, take prisoners of war, and boost the morale of Ukrainian forces and civilians. While recognizing the success in achieving many objectives, Syrskyi remains cautious about Ukraine’s ability to retain control over the reclaimed territory in the long term.
In an interview with NBC News, Zelenskyy stated Ukraine’s intent to hold the captured Russian land as part of their broader victory plan, set to be presented to international allies soon. A recent analysis by the Institute for the Study of War suggests that Ukraine’s actions in Kursk could cause premature conclusion of Russian offensive operations in eastern Ukraine, highlighting the strategic disruption caused by Ukraine’s incursion.