The American publication The Wall Street Journal writes that the Ukrainian offensive in Russia's Kursk region began on August 6 at 3 a.m. in the morning. The attack was sudden and unexpected and forced Russian troops on the border to flee in panic or surrender.
Ukrainian forces initially faced only one obstacle – concrete dragon's teeth designed to prevent tanks from passing. However, the ZSU create a gap and pass their armored vehicles through it.
For two and a half years, Russia has not built a single defense line in the area, a Ukrainian officer said. Within a few days, Ukrainian troops captured dozens of settlements. The offensive shocked Russia and raised the mood in Ukraine.
The Kremlin initially downplayed the invasion, calling it a sabotage operation by terrorists. When he realized the scale, however, Putin sent reinforcements to stop the Ukrainian advance.
The rapid maneuvers are reminiscent of Ukraine's successful counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region in 2022. Ukraine's Supreme Military Commander Oleksandr Syrsky said 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory is now under Ukrainian control.
By breaching the border, Kiev seeks to divert Moscow's resources from other areas of the front line where Ukrainian forces are under heavy pressure, but opening a new front risks stretching Ukrainian forces even further, the publication said.
As the fighting near Kursk continues, Russian troops continue to advance in eastern Ukraine, moving towards Pokrovsk and striking the nearby town of Chasov Yar, located in the strategic heights of the Donbass.
For the first time since World War II, a foreign army invades the Russian Federation. Ukrainian soldiers share: “Everyone was afraid of Russia, but we show that there is nothing to it”. Vladimir Putin is currently sitting humiliated in the Kremlin and trying to come up with an excuse as to how his “unparalleled” army to be defeated on its own soil.