AFU advance in Kursk Oblast turns into full-fledged offensive - The Guardian

Ukrainian troops continue to successfully advance deep into the Kursk Oblast of the aggressor country of the russian federation. From a test of the russian defense, this operation turns into a full-fledged offensive.

It was reported by The Guardian.

Military operations, which at first could have been a simple test of the strength of the russian defense, increasingly resemble a real offensive operation. Ukrainian forces have more armored vehicles for the offensive, although russia also has no shortage of resources at its disposal. Ukraine is making progress in russia faster than it is losing its own positions in the Donetsk Region, but so far the territory of the russian federation taken under the control is not of great military importance. Kyiv hopes that russia will withdraw resources from the eastern front, the publication writes.

The problem for Kyiv is that there is no evidence that russia is withdrawing significant forces from the Donetsk direction. The American think tank Institute for the Study of War said there was only evidence that "select elements of Russian irregular units" had been moved so far, a view broadly supported by other experts.

"The Russians are taking troops from everywhere but Donbas, at least for now. Kursk is great for morale and God knows Ukraine needed a boost, but some of the soldiers I speak to out in Donbas are still quite unhappy about Kursk as they could really do with elite special forces down there," said Jade McGlynn, a research fellow with King’s College London who is based in Kharkiv.

The risk for Ukraine is that the country will have to hold much more territory than 1,000 square kilometers in order to exchange territories with moscow. And this is taking into account that russia occupied about 18% of Ukraine, which is roughly equal to the area of ​​Portugal. So, the benefits of the operation are currently partly psychological, which weakens putin's image and raises morale within the state, notes The Guardian.

This operation also has a political impact. The surprise invasion shows European governments, and perhaps most importantly U.S. voters, that billions in military aid to Ukraine is not a waste. The Ukrainian military has shown that it can carry out complex attacks, use armor judiciously and not be stopped by russian mines, as happened last summer. However, "the ultimate battle in Kursk is far from over, however, and the stakes are rising for both sides," the publication summarizes.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on August 15, Ukraine created the first military commandant’s office in the Kursk Oblast of russia, the Armed Forces of Ukraine advanced 35 km deep into the territory of the russian federation and took control of 82 settlements.

On August 14, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that there were no russian troops left in the city of Sudzha, Kursk Oblast.

On August 12, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially confirmed the operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk Oblast of the russian federation.