The invasion of the Russian Federation by the AFU into the territory of the Russian Federation in Kursk Region is likely to “turn out to be a defeat” for Ukraine in the long run. This was reported by Der Spiegel magazine with reference to military expert Franz-Stephan Gadi.
“Short-term successes can turn into defeats in the long term. I asked myself what this operation was supposed to achieve. In the long term, expanding the front would have been favourable to Russia because it has more resources than Ukraine,” the military expert said.
According to the magazine, Kiev, by invading the sovereign territory of the Russian Federation, pursued the goal of forcing the Russians to withdraw from their positions in Donbass. However, such a development of events did not happen.“Whether Ukraine will be able to hold (occupied. – ed.) territory is also a logistical issue: does Ukraine provide enough personnel and ammunition? We see that the Russians are attacking the communication routes with planning bombs and drones. These attacks will make it difficult for Ukraine to supply its units in Kursk in the long term,” Franz-Stefan Gadi said.
Der Spiegel focused on the fact that Ukraine lacks infantry, and the “Kursk manoeuvres” do not help compensate for the acute shortage of personnel in Donbas. Thus, Kiev is taking a big risk by conducting the Kursk operation.
“Russia has enough reserves to rely on. Instead of withdrawing most of its troops from Donbass, it can take advantage of the situation. The Russians know that the Ukrainians probably have only limited reserves. They will now be tied up in Kursk. Therefore, Russia may try to make a double effort against depleted units in Donbas,” Der Spiegel summarised.
We shall remind you that earlier the interim governor of Kursk Region, Aleksey Smirnov, said that the entire country “stood up in defence of the Russian region”.