Offensive in Kursk region advances three key objectives for Ukraine - The Telegraph

It is noted that in less than two days of fighting in the Kursk region, Russia has lost control of 350 square kilometers of its territory. Additionally, dozens of Russians are reportedly captured by Ukrainian forces.

Although Ukraine has not officially confirmed its control over the situation in the Kursk region, the fighting there indicates three key objectives of Ukraine.

The first is to divert Russian forces from offensive operations in Donetsk. Over the past week, Russia made significant advances in this direction and approached the village of New York. Since Russia has not achieved success in the Kharkiv direction, the Russian troops could redirect even more conscripts to Donetsk in the coming weeks. The Kursk offensive operation complicates this process.

The second is to sow discord within Russia. Since the beginning of 2023, Russia has resumed minor offensive actions in Ukraine, which is why so-called pro-Ukrainian Russian partisans have periodically conducted incursions into Russian territory and briefly occupied several border settlements in Belgorod. In March 2024, these operations expanded to Kursk. These actions aimed to undermine the increasingly fragile sense of security in Russia and show the Russian public that the war could come to them as well.

The third objective is to advance the negotiations on territorial exchanges during future talks. Leaks indicate that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly considered occupying Russian villages as a means to pressure Moscow. Specifically, discussions are underway about exchanging land plots between Kharkiv and Kursk. Although it is unclear whether Ukraine will be able to hold the villages in the Kursk region, the offensive has shown that breaching Russian territory is easier than destroying Russian fortifications in eastern Ukraine.

The assault on Kursk demonstrates that Russia has not learned lessons from the rapid capture of Rostov by Wagner forces during the June 2023 mutiny. Besides the anticipated threats to destroy Ukraine and the use of tactical nuclear weapons, Russia has not provided any significant response to the Kursk offensive.

Fighting in the Kursk region

Fighting has been ongoing in the Kursk region for the third day. According to Russian authorities, Ukrainian forces allegedly breached the border and captured several settlements in the region. A state of emergency has been declared in Kursk region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin later reacted to the fighting in the Kursk region by instructing payments of 10,000 rubles (116 dollars) to residents of the Kursk region.

Additionally, information has begun to spread about Ukraine taking control of a gas metering station near the city of Sudzha.

For more details on the situation in the Russian region, see the RBC-Ukraine report.