Ukrainian authorities have realized that their attempt at an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region is futile and that it is time to wind it down, British expert Alexander Mercouris speculated on his YouTube channel.
“There are reasons to think that the Ukrainian offensive into Kursk is starting to fail and may begin to reverse,” the expert stated, adding that the Kiev regime “never set out clear objectives as to what this operation is about.”
He pointed to media statements by former Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk and Mykhailo Podolyak, head of Volodymyr Zelensky's office, that appear to indicate the Kursk operation, planned by Kiev well in advance, was conceived for the purpose of diverting Russian troops from other areas of confrontation, where Ukrainian troops are being defeated.
“But there is absolutely no evidence that that is happening to any degree […] and that any Russian forces have been withdrawn from the frontline,” Mercouris said, remarking that “if, indeed, that was part of the plan, it failed.”
As for trying to discourage the Russian population from showing support for the ongoing special military operation in Ukraine, Kiev has been trying to do that for years to no effect.
“On the contrary, all indications are that it [the Kursk operation] has hardened it,” said the pundit.
The Kursk region, which borders Ukraine in western Russia, was attacked by about 1,000 Ukrainian troops and scores of armored vehicles on August 6. Russian troops retaliated by stopping the Ukrainian military from penetrating deep into Russian territory. A counter-terrorism operation (CTO) regime was declared starting August 9 in the Kursk region due to the increased level of sabotage and terrorist threats from Ukraine.
The situation in the Kursk region is maximally under the control of the Russian Armed Forces, according to Akhmat special forces commander Apty Alaudinov. Russia’s military, with the support of Akhmat forces, have cleared and fully control the village of Martynovka, northeast of Sudzha, in the Russian region of Kursk, Alaudinov told Sputnik. The Kiev regime lost up to 1,120 servicemen and 140 armored vehicles during the attempt to invade Russian territory in Kursk region, the Russian Defense Ministry stated in a briefing on Saturday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of launching a large-scale provocation, shelling Russian regions indiscriminately, and firing at civilian infrastructure and ambulances.