Kursk's role not fully realized, situation near Pokrovsk may change - Colonel of Security Service of Ukraine
Photo: Roman Kostenko (facebook.com/kostenko_roman83)
Russia is ready to sacrifice the Kursk region and therefore is not currently moving its troops from the eastern frontline to Ukraine, stated Roman Kostenko, secretary of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence.
According to him, the Russian forces still aim to push the Pokrovsk direction, so more forces and resources are needed there now. He noted that Ukraine is currently fighting with limited resources, having only 50% of what is needed to hold off the enemy.
"If we intend to advance further, establish defense at some position, and hold it, and if we are ready to supply resources for this, then I believe that the Russians, even with such pace, will not take reserves from the main directions... I think the enemy needs at least a month to gather something capable of at least holding us," Kostenko said.
He noted that many factors can influence the course of an operation in military affairs.
“Kursk has not fully played its role yet. Everything will depend on how we continue there (in the Kursk region - ed.), the consequences for Russia, and how we develop the situation,” he said.
In his view, the advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region could force Russia to reduce pressure on the Pokrovsk direction and redeploy troops back to Russia.
“These are possibilities. We didn’t just start the offensive for no reason. The main goal was to force the enemy to maneuver,” he said.
Kostenko explained that while Russian forces near Pokrovsk suffer losses and the Ukrainian military holds them back, more severe strikes would be delivered in the Kursk region. At the same time, Ukraine might find reserves to open additional fronts.
“This could completely shift the front line, and Russia would be forced to react. In war, the key is to impose the initiative. However, it is unrealistic to do this in the eastern direction, because they (Russians - ed.) have concentrated everything they have there. Our initiative now could force the enemy to make decisions that might positively affect the Pokrovsk and Toretsk directions,” he emphasized.
Fighting in the Kursk region
The operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region has been going on for two weeks now, and Ukraine has taken control of about 82 Russian settlements.
One of the goals of the operation is to protect Ukraine's border regions from Russian shelling and create a buffer zone.
Earlier, a number of media outlets began reporting that Russia was withdrawing its troops from the front line in Ukraine to stop the advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region. In addition, the head of the Lithuanian Defense Ministry stated that Russia was redeploying the forces from the Kaliningrad region to the Kursk region.
Tomorrow, August 20, the forced evacuation of children accompanied by their parents, guardians and other legal representatives from Pokrovsk will begin.
Read more about the situation in the Kursk region in the material by RBC-Ukraine.
