“Kiev” gambling in Kursk / What dream did Putin have for Zelensky?

reportMehr News Agency, the American publication Newsweek wrote in a report that the reaction of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Ukraine’s attack on the border region of Kursk It was probably done deliberately and purposefully.

This is the second time that after World War II and Nazi Germany’s attack on Russian territory in Operation “Barbarossa” in 1941, Russian territory was attacked by foreign forces. takes The “Battle of Kursk” was fought between Germany and the former Soviet Union in 1943, and with the destruction of a large number of German troops and tanks, the Soviets won the battle and took the initiative for the rest of the war. Now, eighty decades after that war, the Kursk region has once again become the scene of a major battle, but this time, Putin has turned his attention, without paying much attention, to a city on the front line in Donetsk!

Newsweek wrote: Kiev’s attack on Kursk on August 6, which, according to Alexander Sirsky, the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, It led to the capture of about 1,000 square kilometers and 100 residential areas and the capture of 594 Russian soldiers, surprising not only Putin but also Ukraine’s allies.

However, Ukraine faces strange questions about Moscow’s advance on the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk has been The War Studies think tank announced on Wednesday last week that Russian forces continue to make a “significant tactical advance” southeast of the city of Pokrovsk, which is a critical road and rail and logistics hub for Ukrainian forces.

Independent research organization “War Intelligence Team” which supports Ukraine and in the field of gathering information using “open source” method has expertise, he wrote the same day that the situation in the Pokrovsk axis is “too dangerous” for Kiev forces.

Nico Lang, the chief of staff of the German Ministry of Defense until 2022, said: “Putin from the eastern front of Ukraine And to blind Kiev’s advance, he did not send troops to the Kursk region and instead used the reserve forces for a counterattack; However, the Kremlin has denied this. However, Moscow’s forces in eastern Ukraine remain intact. Putin is not diverting Russian forces from the axis they created in the attack towards Pokrovsk. He plans to use forces from other regions, or he simply said to himself, “No problem, we’ll deal with Kursk later, but Pokrovsk is more important for now.”

Long, who works as an expert at the Center for European Policy Analysis, also said that “to be clear Whether or not Ukraine’s attack on Kursk will be successful will have to wait for a few more months, and although it seems that the Kiev operation was well thought out, if it was aimed at forcing Putin’s forces to change the front from Pokrovsk to Kursk, we must say that this plan has not worked yet. .”

Newsweek claims that the residents of Kursk are dissatisfied and angry with the response of the authorities to the aggression in Ukraine, but the reflection and reflection of the aggression Kiev will further justify Putin’s next attack and, in addition to managing expectations of Moscow’s reaction, will strengthen Russia’s extensive support for the Kremlin.

Nicola Fasola, author of “A Different Interpretation of Russia’s Strategic Culture: War in the Russian Style” about the attack Ukraine told Kursk: In order for this attack to be effective, Ukrainian military personnel and equipment had to be diverted from the southeast (Ukraine) front, which subsequently allowed Russian forces to advance and capture more areas in Donbass. However, it is “improbable” that the achievement and advance of Kiev (in Kursk) will turn the tide of the war, and in addition, the continuation of Russia’s advance in Pokrovsk can divert domestic public attention and opinion from Kursk and strengthen the Kremlin’s narrative about the operations in the Donbass region. slow.

Fasola, who works as a researcher at the University of Bologna, added: “This issue is in the worst case for Russia.” It provides far more advanced and more suitable for future operations and creates a greater distance between the rear of the front and the front line.

John Hardy, deputy director of the Russia program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, says: Ukraine is using its limited reserves in The attack on Kursk, as well as by withdrawing various units from the front line and sending them to the Kursk operational area, was a gamble, and only time will tell if this gamble paid off!

He emphasized: the wear and tear of the Ukrainian reserve forces is undoubtedly dangerous, especially if these forces be surrounded So far, Ukraine has not lost much equipment in Kursk, but it is clear that these losses will increase over time. The danger that Ukraine threatens is not only the lack of access to these units for defense in other areas and fronts of the Donetsk region, but the bigger problem is exhaustion, and this problem will become worse if Ukraine’s human resources are out of reach.

Although the exact purpose of the Kursk attack has not been determined, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed last Tuesday that This operation is “one of the four parts of the victory plan” that will be presented to US President Joe Biden and the candidates for the presidential elections next month. According to Zelensky, the attack on Kursk was carried out with the aim of creating a “buffer zone”.

According to Fasula, “Ukraine’s current advances to compensate the territory occupied by Russia in Donbass and use it to The title of pressure lever at the negotiation table is very, very insignificant