During the last two weeks, the Ukrainian army has managed to carry out offensive operations, especially in the Kursk region, where they have entered several kilometers into Russia. Ukrainian authorities claim they have control over 1,000 square kilometers, while Russian authorities claim it is about half of this. Ukrainian soldiers sit inside an armored vehicle after returning from the Russian Kursk region. Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka / AP 200,000 Russian citizens have been evacuated from the area since last week, according to NTB. – It’s embarrassing in every way you can understand the word “embarrassing”. That’s what Palle Ydstebø, head teacher at the Military Academy, says about how the offensive makes the Kremlin stand out. Ydstebø explains that it is thorough planning over time, which means that Ukraine has managed to bring large forces all the way to the border without being discovered. In addition, Russia reacted too late, the head teacher believes. The Ukrainian offensive in Russia On 6 August, Ukrainian soldiers moved into the Russian Kursk region. This is the biggest Ukrainian attack against Russia since the war started. Although Russia has fought, they have not been able to take control back in these areas. Russia has evacuated several thousand inhabitants from the area, states the county governor of the Begorad region, Vyacheslav Gladkov. According to the Ukrainian army, they have taken over 100 Russian soldiers as prisoners of war. The biggest attack on Russia since the Second World War The offensive in Kursk and Belgorod has been referred to as the biggest attack on Russia since the Second World War. The offensive in Kursk and Belgorod, these two regions border Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj said the operation was part of Kyiv’s efforts to restore justice after Russia’s invasion in 2022. The Ukrainians have attacked several military and infrastructure targets. On Friday, Ukrainian forces destroyed a bridge over the Seym River in the Kursk region, according to the Russian news agency Tass. – On the political, psychological level, this has kicked Russia. At the same time, Ukraine has told the world, which is unsure of what they can achieve, that they can achieve a good number of things, says Ystebø. Palle Ydstebø, lieutenant colonel and head teacher at the War College. Photo: Hanna Johre / news It is Tor Bukkvoll, chief researcher at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute, together. He believes that it is positive for Ukrainian morale, both for the soldiers and the population, that they have now managed to fight back after receiving Russian attacks over a longer period of time. Although the Ukrainian offensive is an important factor in the war, one should not exaggerate the importance this will have for further development, Bukkvoll believes. He emphasizes that several factors can be decisive. Medical personnel help a local resident at a field hospital in an unknown location in the Kursk region. Photo: ANATOLIY ZHDANOV / AFP – Fundamentally, this is now what is called a war of attrition. It is very much whoever has the most soldiers and the most weapons, who wins. It will depend, for example, on whether Ukraine will receive arms aid from the West if Donald Trump is elected president of the United States. The chief researcher also says that Russia’s weapons production will be a factor. Today, the country has a warehouse, but it is expected that the warehouses will be empty beyond next year. Ukrainian soldiers have lunch in the Sumy region of Ukraine, near the border with Russia. A Ukrainian soldier installs extra protection on a tank in the Sumy region of Ukraine, near the border with Russia. Ukrainian soldiers operate a tank on a road near the border with Russia, in the Sumy region of Ukraine. Residents of a block of flats that were damaged after shelling from the Ukrainian side left the area in Kursk, Russia. Residents of a block of flats that were damaged after shelling from the Ukrainian side left the area in Kursk, Russia. A burned-out car is visible in front of a block of flats that was damaged after a grenade attack from the Ukrainian side in Kursk, Russia. Calling it terror towards the population Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin have towards the Russian population called the Ukrainian offensive a terrorist attack. – It would be embarrassing not to discover that they were attacked militarily, but less embarrassing if you didn’t see a terrorist attack coming, says Bukkvoll about the strategy they have chosen. Tor Bukkvoll, chief researcher at the Defense Research Institute Photo: Hanna Johre/news When the authorities have defined it as a terrorist attack, they have acted accordingly. Therefore, it is the intelligence service (FSB) and not the defense that leads the handling. Bukkvoll believes that it affects how the Russian operation is carried out. According to him, there is a big difference between what the population of Russia hears from their own people who are at the front, and what the authorities present on state-run channels. An analysis by AFP based on data from the Institute for the Study of War showed on Monday that Ukraine controlled 8,000 square kilometers of Russian territory. Palle Ydstebø and Tor Bukkvoll. Photo: Hanna Johre/news Now Ydstebø says that the Ukrainians have several options as to how they can proceed in the offensive. – They can choose to establish a solid defense and defeat the Russians along the way, or withdraw if they are satisfied with the result. Even the Ukrainian authorities have said that they are not interested in staying on Russian territory, according to AFP. Published 17.08.2024, at 17.47
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