Employees in the administration of Joe Biden in the White House are not afraid of a large-scale escalation of the war between Russia and Ukraine, but have expressed concern that the invasion of the Kursk region could lead to cruel retaliation by Vladimir Putin, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Revenge will be expressed in a massive missile attack against Ukraine – something the Russian aggressor has been doing frequently since the start of the full-scale war that began in February 2022.
It is not yet clear what the purpose of the Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk region, which began in the early hours of August 6, but it is possible that one of the goals was the deployment of Russian troops from the Donbass to Kursk. A Ukrainian officer fighting near Chasov Yar told the WSJ that, at least for now, Ukrainian forces in the area are not feeling any changes. “At least for now, the Russians have no intention of transferring troops from the east to Kursk”, says the military.
Military analysts believe that the main problem with this operation is that it does not change the main front lines in eastern Ukraine, where the invaders, albeit slowly, are advancing because they outnumber the Ukrainian armed forces in weapons and manpower.
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The publication writes that the ultimate goal of the Kursk operation remains unclear. The Ukrainian side commented on these events discreetly, but the first successes have already appeared on social networks. In particular, videos of Ukrainian troops raising their flag, smoldering Russian military equipment and angry posts from Russian military bloggers.
The operation is a severe image blow for Vladimir Putin. Moreover, Ukraine has shown that it has the courage and ability to covertly plan and launch a complex offensive operation. After a failed counteroffensive last summer, Kiev's forces have spent a year in brutal trench warfare against persistent Russian advances.
With its invasion of Russia, Kiev also wants to send a signal to Washington before the presidential elections there in November – here, we can fight against the Russian aggressor, but we need more military support.