Is Zelenski playing his last card? The Ukrainian armed forces have launched a new offensive in Kursk / The most intense battles of the war are now taking place
The Ukrainian armed forces launched a new offensive in Kursk, after three months in which the front in the Russian territory was, rather, quiet. According to the general staff of the Ukrainian army, the most intense fighting in the war that began almost three years ago is now taking place on the front line in Kursk. In Ukraine, the Russians are getting closer to encircling the strategic city of Pokrovsk, and internationally, all eyes are on Donald Trump, who, in two weeks, should announce his peace plan for Ukraine.
Is Zelenski playing his last card? The Ukrainian armed forces launched a new offensive in Kursk
The Ukrainian armed forces again took the Russian army by surprise with an offensive in Kursk. This would have started, it seems, on Sunday, Russian military bloggers claim, but the information was also confirmed by the Ukrainian General Staff, yesterday. It seems that the Ukrainians have started the offensive from the direction of Sudja and are moving with armored vehicles towards the village of Bolshoie Soldatskoie. Russian sources claim that the Ukrainians would like to reach the Russian Kurchatov nuclear power plant, but this is not the first time that this has been speculated. And at the beginning of the Ukrainian incursion into Russia, in Kursk, in August 2024, the same thing was said, but Kiev denied such a plan.
The big question now is what could be the purpose of this offensive in Kursk, the same question that was asked in August 2024, because although the incursion was a surprise one and demonstrated that the Ukrainians can launch an offensive into Russian territory, from then until now they have lost 40% of the occupied territory in Kursk.
Experts believe that even if the current attacks of the Ukrainians in Kursk would lead to a 10 km advance, the fighting would still take place in areas where attacks have taken place in recent months. It appears to be quite difficult for the Ukrainians, now, to muster enough strength to make significant operational changes. The advance towards Bolshoi Soldatskoye also leads to the extension of the front, a fact that does not favor the Ukrainians. It is possible that the Ukrainians initiated this offensive now also because the weather was favorable for rapid armored movement, given that the temperatures in Russia are low and the ground is frozen.
Most likely, Kiev wants to reset the cards on a possible negotiation table so that the Ukrainians also have an advantage, before Trump comes to the White House. However, the Ukrainian military’s concentration in Kursk could hurt Zelensky’s army on the home front.
The Russians were taken by surprise, again, in Kursk, because on the front in Ukraine, the Russian army was at an advantage since October.
The Russians occupied around 4,200 square km in Ukraine in 2024, albeit with colossal losses among the military and with an advance in territory made on generally open surfaces. However, in recent weeks, the intensity of military actions around the city of Pokrovsk has increased and it seems that, now, the Russians are preparing to encircle it, occupying, in the last days, settlements in the northeast direction.
Source: www.mediafax.ro
