In less than two days the Armed Forces seized more territory than for the entire counter -offensive in 2023 - the media

On Tuesday morning, August 8, at least 300 Ukrainian military crossed the Russian border and invaded the Kursk region. After the attacks on border posts in Nikolaev-Darino and Oleshno, the Ukrainian forces occupied 350 square kilometers of Russian territory and captured dozens of military. Samuel Ramani writes about it in his column for the Telegraph.

According to the teacher of politics and international relations of Oxford University, the offensive operations of Ukraine in Kursk do not show any signs of slowdown. Ramani notes that in less than forty -eight hours, Ukraine has seized more than for all unsuccessful counter -offensive in the summer of 2023. The General Staff of Ukraine is keeping a secrecy and does not comment on these events, but it is clear that this offensive pursues several key goals.

Ramani listed three: the first is the distraction of the Russian forces from offensive operations in Donetsk region. Last week, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation took control of the village of Progress, Yevgenivka and New York. These successes are part of Russia's strategy to consolidate control over the logistics centers and altitudes of Toretsk.

Although Ukraine denies the statement about the capture of New York by Russia, Zelensky has recently acknowledged that "the whole front in the East is difficult. " Since the prospect of significant success in the Kharkiv region is distant, Russia can redirect even more conscripts in the Donbas in the next weeks. The Kursk offensive operation of Ukraine complicates this process. The second is to sow discord within Russia.

After Russia resumed minor offensive actions at the beginning of 2023, pro -Ukrainian guerrillas periodically invaded the Russian territory. In May and June 2023, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Legion of Freedom of Russia briefly occupied several border settlements in the Belgorod region. In March 2024, these cross -border operations spread to the Kursk region.

These raids aimed to destroy an increasingly fragile sense of security in Russia and show the Russian public that the war could come to them. The current offensive of Ukraine begins with the place where these unsuccessful raids ended. The third is to advance the territories on the exchange of territories during future negotiations.

Ramini makes a statement by the adviser to the head of the Presidential Office Mikhail Podolyak, who said the Kursk offensive operation could strengthen the future position in the negotiations. Although it is unclear whether Ukraine can keep villages in the Kursk region, the offensive showed that it is easier to break into the Russian territory than to destroy Russian fortifications in eastern Ukraine.

Despite its initial success, the author predicts that Ukrainian achievements in the Kursk region can be short -term because of the possible pressure from the event and the risks of more intense Russian strikes in Sumy region. However, this offensive shows that Russia has not yet made conclusions from its previous mistakes. In particular, from the lightning capture of Rostov Wagner PEC during the rebellion in June 2023.

In addition to the predictable threats of destruction of Ukraine and the use of tactical nuclear weapons, Russia did not respond significantly to the offensive in the Kursk region. Because the F-16 aircraft also arrive at the front, Putin has many reasons for concern, Ramini summarizes. We will remind, on August 8, Bloomberg published a material that for the first time since the Second World War, the army of another country was able to enter the territory of the Russian Federation.