Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Ukraine's attack on the Kursk region was an attempt to divert attention from Moscow's offensive in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region in order to gain a better negotiating position to end the war. Ukraine said on the same day that it had seized 1,000 square kilometers (3,300 square miles) of the Kursk region.
VOA – Putin said that Kyiv, in its offensive in Russia's southwestern Kursk region, may have tried to destabilize Russian life, but failed.
He said the number of volunteers joining the Russian military had increased and was determined that Russia would achieve its military goals.
Putin said in a televised meeting with top security officials and regional governors, “The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces have increased dramatically, including among the most combat-ready units, units that the enemy has transferred to our borders. The enemy will certainly receive a corresponding response, and all the goals we set for ourselves will, without a doubt, be achieved.”
Much of Russia has been spared the direct impact of Moscow's 2-1/2-year invasion of Ukraine, but on Monday (August 11) Russian officials urged more residents of the Kursk region to evacuate because of the “extremely tense situation” in the area.
Russian troops are still holding out to respond to Ukraine's surprise attack after nearly a week of fierce fighting.
Russian emergency authorities say more than 100,000 people have fled their homes after Ukrainian troops and weapons crossed the border on August 6, reportedly pushing 30 kilometers (18 miles) into Russian territory. It is the biggest incursion into Russian territory since World War II.
Ukrainian forces quickly advanced on the town of Sudzha about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border after launching an attack. They reportedly still control the western part of the town, which is home to a key natural gas transit station.
Ukrainian Army Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on Monday (12/8) in his report to President Volodimir Zelensky at a meeting with military and political leaders said, “During our offensive on the territory of the Kursk region (Russia), at the moment, about 1,000 square kilometers of the territory of the Russian Federation are under our control. Our units are carrying out the assigned tasks. Practically, there are battles along the entire front line. The situation is under our control.”
The Ukrainian operation was carried out in high secrecy, and it remains unclear whether Kyiv intended to seize territory or conduct a hit-and-run. The attack, which caught the Kremlin by surprise, comes as Russia continues its push to gain control of eastern Ukraine.
The Ukrainian attack dealt a blow to Putin's efforts to pretend that life in Russia was largely unaffected by the war.
Russian government propaganda has sought to downplay the attack, emphasizing the authorities' efforts to help residents in the region and seeking to divert attention from the military's failure to prepare for the attack and quickly repel it.
Kursk residents have recorded videos lamenting their fate as they flee the border region, leaving their belongings behind, and begging Putin for help. But Russia's state-controlled media has kept a tight lid on such expressions of discontent.
However, retired General Andrei Gurulev, a member of Russia's lower house of parliament, criticized the military for failing to properly protect the border.
He noted that although the military had installed minefields in the border areas, they had failed to deploy enough troops to block enemy attacks.
In his message on the messaging app channel he said, “Unfortunately, the group of troops protecting the border does not have its own intelligence assets. Nobody likes to see the truth in reports, everyone just wants to hear that everything is fine.”
Pasi Paroinen, an analyst with the Finland-based open-source intelligence agency Black Bird Group, who monitors the war, said the toughest phase of the Ukrainian offensive would likely begin when Russian reserve forces began entering the battlefield.
He said that “if the Ukrainians are going to advance further from their current positions, it will be a tough battle, not unlike the opening moments of this offensive.”
Ukraine's advances into Russian territory “challenge the operational and strategic assumptions” of Kremlin forces, according to an assessment late Sunday by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.
The agency described Russian forces responding to the attack as “hasty and poorly organized.” (my/jm)
