Regardless of the outcome of the Ukrainian army's incursion into Russia, this operation that began last Tuesday is already a real failure for Vladimir Putin. Almost seven days have passed since Kievan forces crossed the border north of Kharkiv and began this breakthrough in the Kursk region, forcing residents to fleeas particularly evidenced by photographs obtained by AFP in Rylsk…
Regardless of the outcome of the Ukrainian army's incursion into Russia, this operation that began last Tuesday is already a real failure for Vladimir Putin. Almost seven days have passed since Kievan forces crossed the border north of Kharkiv and began this breakthrough in the Kursk region, forcing residents to fleeas the photos obtained by AFP in Rylsk in particular demonstrate. According to Russian news agencies, “more than 76,000 people had to be relocated.” On their social networks, Ukrainian soldiers also published videos of their advance into enemy territory. In one of them, one of them tears down a Russian flag installed on the pediment of a building.
While in recent days Kiev has preferred to keep quiet about the objective of this surprise attack, Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on Saturday evening. In this speech, he admitted that it was about “moving the war to the territory of the aggressor”. According to a senior Ukrainian official, the operation would also aim to “divert Russian forces from the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv (northeast) and Donbass (east) to ease their pressure on the outnumbered troops in Kiev and who have no resources. . armament”. At this crucial point of armaments, Volodymyr Zelensky said late Saturday that Ukraine had just received new deliveries from the United States, including “Stinger missiles, Himar ammunition and 155 mm artillery shells.”
The “anti-terrorist” regime.
However, this incursion, supported by Western weapons, mainly highlighted gaps in the Russian system and revealed the fact that the border territories were not well defended. The proof of this is: to stop this Ukrainian maneuver, Moscow had to send reinforcements and establish an “anti-terrorist” regime in the regions concerned.
However, doubts remain about the volume of forces committed by Kiev. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, “a thousand” Ukrainian soldiers are in Russia. “Much more,” the Ukrainians reply. They assure us: “thousands” of people take part in this incursion. A big difference. It actually seems difficult to sustainably hold an area 20 to 30 km deep with a thousand people. On the other hand, with “thousands”, this could change the situation and the ambition of this attack. However, to see Kiev settling in Russia to constitute, with the occupied territories, a bargaining chip for future negotiations seems, at this stage, highly unlikely. Especially since after six days of advance, the Russian response was initiated.
In a statement, Moscow claimed to have stopped Ukrainian “armoured vehicles” 30km beyond its border with airstrikes, drones, artillery and the sending of reserves from the Northern group, deployed in Ukraine's Kharkiv region (northeast). . . Still. For Vladimir Putin, forced to fight back on his own soil, the humiliation is bitter.