Ukrainian forces are continuing their push inside Russia’s Kursk oblast as a map shows the state of the front line in the surprise incursion.
Kremlin-affiliated military blogger Rybar said on Telegram that Russian forces have so far ben unable to stabilize the front line, six days into the incursion by Ukraine’s armed forces.
“The crisis is still far from being resolved,” read the post, which said Russian forces have control and command problems. It added how Ukraine is trying to stretch Russian defensive formations to break through and cut off Belgorod from the north.
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Institute for the Study of War
“Ukrainian formations are trying to expand deeper into Russian territories,” added another post by Rybar.
Ukrainian forces reportedly launched new incursions into five areas in the Kursk region, with a map by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on Monday marking these claims. The Washington, D.C.-based think tank’s graphic published Monday marks a claim by a Russian source that Ukrainian forces had seized Viktorovka and Vnezapnoe in the west of Kursk region.
The image also showed how geolocated footage indicated Ukrainian advances further north near Zhuravli, while further east, there were reported seizures of Mirnyi and Sudzha, as well as operations in Giri. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry about the claims.
Kyiv has revealed little about its objectives amid reports from milbloggers that Ukraine is looking to dig in and stay in Kursk. One of the goals appears to be to pull Russian units from elsewhere to a secondary direction.
“If Russia decides that recapturing lost territory in Kursk is a priority, it could disrupt their operations in the main focus areas in Donetsk,” Emil Kastehelmi, a military expert from the Finland-based OSINT analysis firm Black Bird Group, told Newsweek.
“However, this has not yet materialized—Russia will likely be able to continue attacks in Donetsk without significant changes despite Ukrainian actions in Kursk, as Russians are expected to have enough reserves for both directions.
“Threats such as these may force the Russians to permanently place more troops near the border regions,” Kastehelmi said. “As we have seen, they were unable to stop the initial attack. This would require the Russians to find even more people for the armed forces, which will burden the system even more.”
On Monday, Vladimir Putin met with military, security, and federal and regional government chiefs to discuss the situation in Kursk, as well as the other border regions of Belgorod and Bryansk. The Kremlin released video of the president criticizing officials, in what the ISW said was a move to deflect blame.
Meanwhile, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the incursion was as a result of Putin’s war against Russia.
“If it’s making him a little uncomfortable, then there’s an easy solution: He can just get the hell out of Ukraine,” Kirby said.
