- Ukraine began withdrawing troops from the Kursk region, which remained under its control for 7 months
- The operation aimed at transferring Russian forces from Donbas and showing Russia's weakness
- According to the expert, Colonel Piotr Lewandowski, the failure balance of both parties seems to be balanced, although accurate data are hard to estimate
- In an interview with Onet he explains that he is convinced that the Ukrainian military wanted to retreat from the Kursk region earlier, but did not let them to do so by president Zelenski
- More akin texts can be found on the main page of Onetu
Ukrainian troops, unexpectedly for Moscow, entered the Kursk region on 6 August 2024. It was then explained that 1 of the objectives of this offensive was to force the Russians to decision any of the forces from occupied Donbas to the east of Ukraine into this region. Kiev controlled about 500 km (500 km) of the Russian circuit at its peak. In fresh weeks, however, this area has been shrinking, and the Ukrainian army is in defense.
For respective days now, the Russian army has intensified its offensive on the lands occupied by Ukraine in the Kursk Oblast.
According to U.S. president Donald Trump, the situation of Ukrainian soldiers inactive in Russia is “very bad”. He so asked president Putin to "save their lives".
Military or political operation?
We asked Colonel Piotr Lewandowski to measure the full Ukrainian operation in the Kursk Oblast. He is simply a valued expert in military and lecturer at the WOT Training Centre.
— The easiest way to measure this operation would be to show the losses both sides suffered. But that is virtually impossible, says the Colonel.
— Both Ukrainians and Russians do not print data about their losses, and what they say about enemy losses is exaggerated. However, I think that erstwhile we yet number the human statues that the Ukrainians are now carrying while withdrawing from the circuit, and the ones that they gave the Russians during the attack, the balance sheet will be tied. These will be the losses of as many as 3 countries, for remember that the Ukrainians and the Russians and their allies from North Korea fought in this circuit, adds the military.
However, Colonel Lewandowski distances himself from the claim that the full action was a success of Ukraine.
— All due to the fact that I'm a soldier, and I'm judging these fighting militaryly. At 1 point, however, politics played a major role, says a reserve officer.
According to our interviewer, the attack by Ukrainian forces in the Russian Federation was to show that Russia is weak adequate that, apart from this main theatre of activities in Ukraine itself, it could not even defend its own territory. This makes Ukrainians able to occupy part of Russia.
— And it worked at first. For 7 months in fact, Ukrainian armed forces occupied part of Russian territory. And that message went into the world. Though he was rapidly weakened. After 2 months, he lost it. Nevertheless, Ukrainians continued in the Kurdish circuit. Why? Here I see 2 reasons, says a lecturer at the WOT Training Centre.
Propaganda success but military defeat
According to Colonel Lewandowski, the first reason was... politics. The Ukrainians thought that erstwhile occupying a part of Russia, they would have a "ticket card" in case the thought of war stopping on the front line, which is in force for the moment, came to pass during the peace talks. Russia would then not like to agree to surrender its lands, so it could not require Ukrainians without any corrections to agree to halt Moscow's full territory of Ukraine, which is presently under the control of the Russian army.
The second reason why Ukraine continued in the Kursk Oblast was to convince the “presidential camp in Kiev” that the Ukrainian army is thus bound by large Russian forces there, which so cannot fight on Donbasa.
— Only in my opinion, the last 1 absolutely failed. Russia did not buy it. They did not go to rapidly push the Ukrainians out of their territory and thus actually transfer any of the forces from the Lugansk or Donetsk area. Moscow left strong troops in these areas, and forces moved to the Kursk region from the Chersonia area where Ukrainians did not attack besides hard, says Colonel Piotr Lewandowski.
He adds that in the Kursk region, the Russians defended not only soldiers, but besides Koreans, the forces of the Ministry of the Interior, and even conscripts for a period of time. Moscow treated both areas differently. The fight in Ukraine itself is simply a “special military operation” for her, and the defence of the Kursk region is an “anti-terrorism operation”.
Ukrainians in Russia have been for so long due to Zelenski's stubbornness?
According to Colonel Lewandowski, “the stubbornness of president Zelenski and his camp” to leave strength in the Russian Kursk Oblast has made the Russians “at hand” in fresh fighting in this place.
— The Russians seem to have had the anticipation for any minute with more concentration of forces to destruct earlier this Kursk performance, but this suited them tactically that there were more Ukrainian forces. In my opinion, the Ukrainian General Staff saw this and possibly wished to retreat from this operation earlier and on their own terms. But for political reasons the military could not do so due to the fact that the Ukrainian presidential cabinet wanted to play this card all the time, that “Russia cannot defend its own territory,” says the expert.
He adds that present we are witnessing a de facto breakdown of Ukrainian defence. This happened due to the fact that Russian military had previously discovered that the Ukrainians would retreat and usage it as part of their rear, loud operation of the ‘tube’, i.e. transition to positions behind Ukrainian defenders' backs in an inactive pipeline.
“ Why did the Ukrainians withdraw? This may be the consequence of these first peace talks, during which it turned out that the "curse breach" was not a bargaining chip for Ukraine. Kiev already knows there's no point in staying there. And I say this with sadness and resentment, but it must be admitted that the Russians, seeing the retreating Ukrainians, planned their actions truly very smoothly. For example, their military actions were good. They discovered that the Ukrainians had already mined 2 bridges that they wanted to blow up after passing through their own troops. But the Russians blew up these crossings with drones earlier and thus any Ukrainians cut off the anticipation of retreat, says Colonel Lewandowski.
According to the expert, as a consequence of specified actions, the Ukrainian troops in fresh days began to retreat chaotically, and this is the case that their losses are surely increasing.
Donald Trump / fact SocialDonald Trump entry on fact Social platform
— president Trump spoke of this, appealing to Putin to spare these Ukrainian soldiers, says Colonel Piotr Lewandowski.
— Only this is any kind of aberration that shows that the president of the United States lives in any “bubble of reality”. Putin won't spare them, due to the fact that he won't want those combat-trained troops fighting on another front. Looking at all this, present even pro-Russian propaganda in Poland powerfully announces what a wonderful operation the Russians conducted in the Kursk Oblast. No 1 talks about the Ukrainians amazing Russians and occupy Russian territory for 7 months. The Russian “success” is spoken of. so yet the full operation of Kiev in the territory of Russia is assessed in minus. She did not bring practically anything to Ukraine in the end — the interviewer concludes.
