Ukraine’s offensive in Kursk region completes one month: Here’s how kyiv’s operation on Russian territory is going

After a month of the unexpected start operation in the Russian territory of KurskUkraine’s progress has slowed, but kyiv has managed to regain the initiativeboth on the battlefield and on the diplomatic stage, in addition to having forced Russia to withdraw numerous forces from the front inside Ukraine.

More than 1,300 square kilometers of Russian territory – the equivalent of half the area of ​​Luxembourg – and more than 100 towns remain under Ukrainian control, while some 6,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded, Ukrainian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. Volodymyr Zelenskyat a meeting of the Contact Group of Defense of Ukraine at the US air base in Ramstein, Germany.

This implies that Ukraine has made little territorial progress in Kursk over the past week, but the operation may have disproportionately positive results, particularly for attempts to Zelensky to convince allies to strengthen their support.

Ukraine gains ground in Kursk and strengthens its position

The operation in Kursk is part of his country’s victory planhad indicated Zelensky already previously.

Ukraine’s chances depend largely on from the support it receives from its foreign allies.

The offensive has transformed the narrative about the war inside and outside Ukraine, after months of growing pessimism and uncertainty.

Without the resources to achieve victory by a purely military means, Russia tries to stir up pessimism among Ukraine’s foreign alliesargued Mikola Belyeskov in his most recent analysis for the National Institute for Strategic Studies.

The operation in Kursk has managed to significantly weaken the attempt Moscow to present limited progress in Pokrovsk and at other points in Donetsk as proof of the inevitability of their final victory and the futility of trying to resist, he told Efe security expert Oleksi Melnik.

According to the analyst of the Razumkov think tank, The offensive has transformed the narrative about the war inside and outside Ukraine, after months of growing pessimism and uncertainty.

Although it has not solved all of Ukraine’s problems, it has provided Zelensky a platform from which to try to convince his partners so th
at they abandon their fear of surpassing the Russia’s “red lines” and convert its overwhelming economic advantage over Moscow into increased military support for Ukraine.

Kursk offensive eases pressure on other fronts

The operation has also helped improve the situation at other points along the front.

According to kyiv, Russia has already relocated Tens of thousands of troops from the front inside Ukrainewhich has reduced its lead by some points.

According to the latest information, Russian advances on the Pokrovsk axis have slowed down, while the Ukrainian Azov brigade managed to successfully counterattack at Niu York, near Toretsk, another Russian objective.

Ukraine could also take advantage of the transfer of Russian forces to launch another operation in another area of ​​the front, Melnik said. Efe.

But the offensive has had another impact. According to the results of the survey published on Friday by the Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTSIOM), Russian President Vladimir Putin has continued to lose points since Ukrainian troops entered Russian territory a month ago.

The poll conducted between August 26 and September 1 shows that 75.5 percent of Russians trust the Kremlin leader, compared with 81.5 percent at the end of July.

Nearly 20 percent of respondents distrust the president, while the rest preferred not to answer, Vtsiom said. results that coincide with the survey conducted by FOM, which places confidence in the president at 76 percent.

Confidence in Putin was above 80 percent before Ukrainian troops crossed the border and seized up to 100 towns in Kursk.

But experts are still hesitant to speak of a long-term deterioration of the image of the Russian leader, who has already quickly recovered from the challenge of Prigozhin and the brutal Islamist attack in March at Crocus City Hall.

Ukraine’s next steps in Kursk

Although it is difficult to predict what Ukraine’s next steps will be in Kursk, The expert believes that it will be able to withstand the increasing pressure of Russian forces thanks to the natural advantages of the terrain.

Ukrainian forces in Kursk are still providing far more benefits than if they had been deployed elsewhere

As a result, Russia will have to send even more troops to the area and will probably be forced to withdraw some units from Pokrovsk and Toretsk, analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko wrote for the Resistance Information Group.

Besides, Ukraine continues to isolate Russian troops south of the Seim River in the Glushkovo district.

According to Kovalenko, Ukrainian attacks have destroyed more than 50% of Russian unity tasked with installing pontoon bridges across the river, meaning that Russian soldiers at Glushkovo were facing increasing pressure and could only escape by swimming.

“Ukrainian forces in Kursk are still bringing much more benefit than if they had been used elsewhere,” Kovalenko said in statements to Efe.