Ukrainian and Russian media reports that Ukrainian forces have invaded Russian territory in the Kursk region. Heavy fighting and destroyed equipment were reported.
Forbes magazine writes that the "Freedom for Russia" legion, made up of Russian partisans fighting on the side of Kiev, is behind the attack.
Armed with American Stryker armored vehicles, the legionnaires advanced on the border towards the town of Suja, hitting several Russian T-62 tanks and shooting down a Ka-52 helicopter.
It's all very dramatic, but also a shameful waste of valuable military resources. While the “Freedom for Russia” carries out a senseless attack in Suja - a city of virtually no military value, Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine continue to withdraw.
In the Ukrainian settlement of New York (located near Gorlovka), which bears the name of the American metropolis, the Russian army exerts pressure with a large infantry force, supported by aviation and artillery fire. Ukraine could use its resources there instead of in Kursk Oblast - including fighters from the same legion of Russian guerrillas that is currently wasting its troops and ammunition capturing several Russian prisoners in a border town that no one expects Ukrainian forces to hold in the long term. plan.
The Russian Air Force is already bombing the Legion “Freedom for Russia” with Su-25 fighter jets. Russian artillery destroyed a pair of Ukrainian Buk air defense systems, apparently supporting the cross-border operation.
Currently, in the Kursk region, we are observing a familiar pattern. Since the start of the full-scale war, Russian partisans fighting for Kiev have carried out several cross-border raids, but none of these raids have resulted in Ukraine seizing new territory. The Legion “Freedom for Russia” it will almost certainly be pulled from Suja within days, if not hours. Now imagine instead that the legion had helped the ZSU in the battles in Donbass.
It is not clear who authorized the attack on Suja and what the objectives were there. Russian guerrillas are under the umbrella of Ukrainian intelligence, but they may have a lot of leeway to plan their own operations. It is possible that the aims of the Legionnaires were more political than practical. That is, they are trying to win a propaganda victory by “invasion” in Russia.
But it's clear that whoever gave the green light to the attack failed to appreciate Ukraine's most pressing problem: a shortage of well-trained infantry - the inevitable consequence of Ukraine's failure to pass a mobilization law at the same time , when Russia undertook its own large-scale mobilization last year.
Ukraine could have strengthened its position on the front line earlier, reducing territorial losses by mobilizing more troops. In this context, it is inexcusable for any Ukrainian or pro-Ukrainian commander to lose lives in an attack that has, at best, only fleeting propaganda value. These hundreds of legionnaires must fight in the east.