The tactic involves:
- Russian assault units split into multiple small teams.
- These teams work to encircle the enemy.
- They strike from multiple directions.
- This tactic aims to leave the opposition with no room to maneuver.
Cut off and constantly pushed back from all sides, Ukrainian militants find themselves unable to hold their positions, no matter how well fortified they are, and often prefer to surrender rather than to continue pointless resistance.
In August, Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in what appeared to be an attempt to force Russia to divert its forces from the Ukrainian conflict zone to counter this breakthrough.
This gambit backfired spectacularly for Kiev as the Ukrainian assault achieved the exact opposite: the large number of troops Ukraine committed to the attack on Kursk led to Ukrainian forces lacking reserves to stop Russian offensive in multiple areas of the Ukrainian conflict zone, such as Kurakhovo, for example.
The city of Kurakhovo is important to Kiev from both the military and economic standpoints. Not only does it serve as the lynchpin of the Ukrainian defenses in the region, barring the way to a key logistical hub of Pokrovsk, it also currently serves as the only source of coking coal for the Ukrainian metallurgy industry.