Rivalry between FSB and General Staff hinders Russia's actions in Kursk region - US General Hodges

He noted that the Kremlin's response to the Ukrainian Armed Forces' operation in the Kursk region highlights Russia's convoluted and ineffective command and control system. Specifically, the Russian authorities tasked the FSB with handling the defense in the Kursk region.

"I don’t think conducting large-scale operations is a core competency of FSB, as demonstrated two and a half years ago. So, a mix of FSB, General Staff, Rosgvardiya (The National Guard of the Russian Federation), and MOI/Border Forces is not an ideal C2 structure," Hodges noted.

According to him, judging by the tension during the mutiny of Wagner PMC leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, the General Staff is not eager to send soldiers to assist in the Kursk region.

Hodges also pointed out that the Russians may face logistical difficulties, as they need to redeploy significant forces over a distance of more than 700 kilometers.

"In my own experience, we were constantly short of truck transport when I was a Brigade Commander in the 101st Airborne Division. The point is that nobody, even the Russians, has enough trucks for large movements on short notice," the general explained.

Therefore, preparing trucks and trains to redeploy troops from eastern Ukraine to the Kursk region will take several days or even weeks once Russians recognize the need.

"I imagine it’ll be at least another week before we start to see impacts on Russian operations in the East," Hodges added.

What preceded

Russian troops have recently been actively advancing in the Pokrovsk direction. The enemy has not been redeploying its troops from there to defend the Kursk region.

As noted by Roman Kostenko, secretary of the National Security, Defense, and Intelligence Committee, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine, the operation in the Kursk region has not yet fully played its role. Therefore, there is still a chance that the situation near Pokrovsk may change.