The operation of the defense forces in the Kursk region remains one of the main topics of the world media.
Leading Western media are monitoring the development of the situation in the Kursk region. It is unclear what the consequences of the operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are, but many agree that Ukraine caught the Russian military off guard and is creating problems for the Kremlin.
ТСН.ua collected the latest articles from leading publications about the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive in Kursk region.
After several days of the operation, the Washington Post wrote that the Ukrainian invasion of western Russia has become the biggest challenge for Vladimir Putin since the Wagner mercenary uprising in 2023.
As the Russian military races to repel a surprise attack, questions are being raised about the intelligence and strategy lapses that allowed Ukrainian troops to cross the border and seize what some Russian analysts estimate to be about 100 square miles of territory in the Kursk region – the largest counterattack in Russian territory. earth since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” journalists write.
Wall Street Jornal in its editorial column highlighted Ukraine's bold move to invade the Kursk region. As the editors noted, the Kremlin believed that its territory was a refuge from the outbreak of war. But this is not so.
In particular, the WSJ noted that Putin was a happy imperialist. He could have invaded Ukraine and fought on its territory, confident that Russia was protected.
“That changed when Ukraine sent elite troops into the Kursk region in an operation that surprised and embarrassed the Kremlin,” writes the WSJ.
The fact that the Russians were taken by surprise, according to the publication, demonstrates how much they considered their territory to be protected. This was one of the goals of Putin's statements about fighting NATO and using nuclear weapons. He wants the US and Western European governments to contain Ukraine, so that it only fights on its own territory.
In another recent article, the WSJ noted that while Ukrainian troops are seizing Russian territory, the Kremlin claims that it does not matter much.
At the same time, the publication believes, the Ukrainian offensive on Kursk raises questions about Russia's military capabilities and where Putin's “red lines” actually lie.
Putin's muted reaction to the invasion, according to the publication, makes one wonder what “red lines” the Russian leader really has, and whether the West's delay in arming Ukraine, caused by fears of Russian escalation, was a strategic mistake, and whether this was a strategic mistake.
WP, citing Russian bloggers, noted that some Russian analysts expressed concerns that recapturing the territory captured by Ukrainian troops could take a long time if a full-scale counteroffensive by Russian reinforcements drags on for several more days. Ukrainian brigades would have to dig in in fortified positions, which would potentially give Kiev a powerful trump card in future ceasefire or peace talks.
Foreign Policy draws attention to the geopolitical consequences of the “Battle of Kursk”. They say that Kyiv's example should help the West make better decisions in a potential war with China.
The text begins with a quote from military theorist Carl von Clausewitz: “The occupation of poorly defended or undefended territory is an advantage in itself, and if this advantage makes the enemy fear the worst possible consequences, it may be considered a shortcut to peace.”
The author of the text, Wess Mitchell, who was responsible for relations with Europe and Eurasia in the US State Department under Donald Trump, notes: it is important to give Ukraine the opportunity to strike with Western weapons all over Russia, because this is the key to a speedy end to the war. And appeasement of Russia is very much in the interests of the West, since two years of a full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war have shown how unprepared Washington and its European allies are for major wars.
“Joe Biden's approach of gradually expanding Ukrainian capabilities is actually only depleting Western military stockpiles. It is already known that for some items – for example, HIMARS launchers – it will take five years to restore stockpiles to early 2022 levels if production continues at the same level at the rate we are now. This is an ideal scenario for China or other Western enemies with armed conflict on their minds,” Mitchell writes.
To emerge victorious from this situation, the Russian-Ukrainian war should quickly end with the defeat of Russia. Ukraine showed in August how this can be achieved. And after that, actively develop, produce and accumulate weapons. Since it is the poorly armed West that is the greatest reason for the escalation of tension in the world – and not the empty statements of Putin or, for example, Medvedev.
BBC calls the Ukrainian operation in Kursk “the boldest, most daring and most risky move of the year.”
Business Insider writes that Ukraine is also gradually achieving its main tactical goal: the Russians are transferring combat-ready units to important areas. In particular, an insignificant number of troops have been transferred to Kursk from the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions. Resources, primarily military ones, are required to maintain the occupied Russian territory. Whether Ukraine is ready to allocate it, given the shortage of troops in key areas for itself, is an open question.
The American agency Bloomberg draws attention to the fact that the Ukrainian operation was the first case of invasion of Russian territory since World War II.
The episode, according to the publication, exposed the fragility of Russia's border defenses, raised the morale of the Ukrainian military, and exploded the Kremlin's carefully constructed image of Russian leader Vladimir Putin as a “defender of ordinary Russians.”
Thus, the war he started against Ukraine is increasingly spreading to Russia, where people in border regions live under constant risk of shelling, and drones strike key industrial facilities.
Bloomberg also points out that the Russian military ignored warning signals about the attack.
According to the publication, Russian intelligence warned the head of the Russian army, Valery Gerasimov, about a possible border breach in the Kursk region two weeks before the fighting began. However, the Russian general and other military officials rejected this information. Nobody informed Vladimir Putin about this either.
After two years of Russian military aggression, Ukraine has gone on the offensive, writes the British Telegraph.
“Ukrainian troops quickly occupied 350 square kilometers of Russian territory and took dozens of Russians prisoner… In less than forty-eight hours, Ukraine captured more territory than during the entire ill-fated counteroffensive of the summer of 2023,” the publication writes.
The surprise attack in the Kursk region humiliated the Russian army, journalists note. And they point out that Ukraine's offensive actions in the Kursk direction are not slowing down. However, journalists doubt that the advance of Ukrainian troops in Kursk will be long-term, including due to pressure from European allies.
The Economist magazine, citing a source in the Ukrainian General Staff, writes that the capture of the Kursk NPP by Ukrainian fighters is unlikely. After all, to do this, they would need to make an 80-kilometer march and have more forces than they have now.
“Without properly organized forces, we will repeat the mistakes that the Russians made north of Kiev in 2022. We cut off their lines, and they became easy prey,” the source explained.
The Welt newspaper publishes a commentary entitled “Ukraine's most intelligent maneuver.” Its author is the chief correspondent for the international department of this publication, Clemens Vergin. He believes that “Kiev, having launched an invasion of the Kursk region, has changed the face of the war.”
The author calls the results of the offensive already achieved “amazing”. The Kremlin has found itself in a dire situation and is forced to consolidate its forces. However, “the three most important effects are probably psychological and political in nature,” the Welt commentator points out.
“Firstly, Ukraine is now in a completely different negotiating position than two weeks ago, since Kiev could now exchange Russian territory for Ukrainian. Secondly, the Kursk operation gives a powerful boost to the fighting spirit of the Ukrainians, who have become accustomed to almost nothing but bad news from the front for many months. And thirdly, Kiev is thus showing its Western partners that this war is not lost at all,” writes Clemens Vergin.
At the same time, Al Jazeera journalists spoke with pro-government Russian journalists and experts on the assessment of the operation. They, in unison with the official position of Russia, claim that the invasion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine into the Kursk region only distances Ukraine from peace talks, and therefore makes the end of the war more distant.
Recall that the offensive on the Kursk region has been ongoing since August 6. Moscow declared a “counter-terrorist operation” in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions, not martial law, to reduce the scale of the invasion of the Kursk region, as well as to prevent panic or a negative reaction within the country.
Meanwhile, a state of emergency has already been declared in the Belgorod region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine units are deepening the breakthrough in the Kursk region and Ukraine is moving towards the strategic goal set for this special operation. At the same time, Ukrainians take into account the humanitarian needs of the local population, as they comply with the rules of war.
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