The attack on the Kursk region: what will it give Ukraine

For several days now, a military operation has been taking place on the territory of the Kursk region, which has put the entire military-political leadership of the aggressor country on edge.

Ukraine has not yet officially commented on these events, but a fairly significant number of settlements in this region are already beyond the control of official Russian authorities.

How it all began

On the afternoon of August 6, some pro-Kremlin telegram channels began writing that Ukrainian troops had broken through the border and were approaching the town of Sudzha in the Kursk region. Already on August 7, again, Russian telegram channels published information that the city of Sudzha was occupied by Ukrainian troops. However, on the afternoon of August 8, this information was questioned even by Russian military bloggers, because they had already written that Sudzha was partially occupied by the Ukrainian army and street battles were taking place in the city. At the same time, there were information messages from some Russian bloggers and telegram channels that Ukrainian troops were fighting near the village of Kromskie Byki, and this is much closer to Kursk than from the same Sudzha. On the morning of August 9, information began to spread massively that the Ukrainian military controlled more than 400 square meters. km of territory in the Kursk region. For comparison, this is the area of ​​a Russian city like Kazan. In addition, on August 9, both Ukrainian and Russian resources began to publish reports about a broken column with infantry, which Russian generals sent to the Kursk region. As a result of the shelling of this column, several dozen Russian soldiers were killed.

In a commentary to RegioNews, expert of the military portal Defense Express Ivan Kirichevsky noted that it seems that after the start of the operation in the Kursk region, the Russians removed the separatist brigade “Pyatnashka” from the Chasovoy Yar direction.

“This is not a classic Russian army, but the first and second corps - the kind of Donetsk separatists that were formed before February 2022. But I have suspicions that this “Pyatnashka” brigade began to be removed from the east of Ukraine even before the start of the offensive in the Kursk region, which I call the “Good Kursk Farmers” operation,” the expert notes.

The position of Ukraine and the aggressor regarding the events in the Kursk region

Until now, the Ukrainian military-political leadership has not commented on the military offensive deep into the Kursk region. Only some bloggers admit that regular Ukrainian troops entered the territory of one of the regions of Russia. Moreover, this happens with the support of heavy armored vehicles, UAVs and air defense systems.

Ivan Kirichevsky has his own version of why there is no explanation from the official military-political leadership of Ukraine.

“Firstly, the answer here is logical, because the General Staff may not comment on events as they are still developing. Remember how in the fall of 2022 the operation took place in the Kharkov direction to liberate Ukrainian territories. At that time everything was clear, who was carrying out what. But the military command was in no hurry to comment,” says the specialist.

At the same time, the Russian side is more willing to comment on everything that happens in the Kursk region. For example, the defense department of the aggressor, as always, began to broadcast terry propaganda about “militants” attacking the Russian border. Later, they began to declare that a sabotage and reconnaissance group had broken into Russian territory. This was followed by statements that the Russians managed to push back the Ukrainian forces, then went on the offensive again. And on the evening of August 7, the president of the aggressor country, Vladimir Putin, even convened a meeting of the Russian Security Council. On the same day, Russian authorities introduced a state of emergency in the Kursk region due to events in the Sudzha area. At the same time, acting Governor of the Kursk region Alexey Smirnov regularly wrote on his telegram channel on August 7 and 8 that Russian air defense forces were shooting down missiles over the region.

Enemy telegram channels also write that Ukrainian troops are fairly digging in in the territories that they have taken control of. They also report that several dozen settlements are already under the control of Ukrainian troops. Moreover, the same Russian military correspondents emphasize that new columns of armored vehicles are constantly arriving in the Sudzha zone from the territory of Ukraine.

According to Ivan Kirichevsky, no matter what we can call these units that are conducting an operation against the Russian army in the Kursk region, they managed to perform a military miracle.

“By the beginning of August, a moment was recorded when no one in the world actually understood how to attack in modern conditions, when drones create complete permeability of the battlefield and plus fortification. But unknown units showed that it is possible to attack even in such conditions,” the military analyst emphasized.

What is the main purpose of this operation

Of course, there is an assumption that in general the operation in the Kursk region was planned to achieve a psychological effect. Like, you can take 400 sq. km of territory, and the Russians will already feel in strategic paralysis, but this success can be developed further.

“In the future, I do not exclude that the Ukrainian side may use the same position as the Russians in 2014, saying that we are not there, and it was not our units that were in the Kursk region,” notes Ivan Kirichevsky.

He is also sure that such an operation was prepared for quite a long time, and not a week or two. This is confirmed by the assessments of Western analysts and the enemy’s statements, which boil down to the fact that several brigade-level units or even a battalion-tactical group are involved in the Kursk operation.

“There is only one conclusion: it would be difficult to assemble such a group in a few weeks, because it takes several months. Therefore, talk that the operation in the Kursk region is a distraction of Russians from the East of Ukraine somehow does not fit with what is happening. In my opinion, this is a completely independent operation. Let me remind you that any offensive military operation must lead to an increase in the military potential and economic potential of the attacking side,” says the expert.

What will happen to the Kursk NPP

Telegram channels are increasingly disseminating information that the offensive operation in the Kursk region is pursuing the goal of almost capturing the Kursk nuclear power plant. They say that later this captured nuclear power plant can be exchanged for the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant occupied by the Russians.

According to Ivan Kirichevsky, of course, no one can deny any logic of actions in this life, but one should remember one of the articles of the Geneva Convention of 1946.

“This article prohibits combat operations on the territory of nuclear facilities or other objects that could, as a result of these actions, release dangerous force. No one has repealed this article of the convention. Therefore, it is better for us not to give unnecessary announcements regarding the Kursk NPP. It’s better to let the Russians themselves violate this norm of the convention to their heart’s content, because they have already installed their “shells” (self-propelled anti-aircraft missile and gun system) on the territory of the nuclear power plant and will clearly use them for their intended purpose. We don’t need to accumulate unnecessary problems during the operation, because even if we take into account this talk about the seizure of the Kursk nuclear power plant, the same expression “Winners are not judged” also means that the winners usually do not inform anyone about their daring plans “, summarized Ivan Kirichevsky.