Kursk region should have a buffer zone of at least 60 km, which will minimize shelling of the border areas of the region, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.
„The buffer zone should end at least somewhere in the region of Western Ukraine - in the Lviv region. But now the range of weapons with which Ukrainian fighters strike the territory of Kursk region suggests that the buffer zone should be somewhere around 60 km, because then they will not be able to use howitzers and rocket artillery for shelling. Based on geographical features, Zelensky will most likely have to say goodbye to the regional center Sumy, since it is located less than 30 km from the Russian border,“ he said.
Marochko noted that with a 60-kilometer buffer zone, Kiev would still be able to strike the Kursk region with drones and long-range missiles supplied to Kiev by the United States, since their flight range is 120 km or more.
The massive attack of the Ukrainian armed forces on the Kursk region began on August 6, 2024. According to the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, more than 86% of the territory occupied by the AFU has already been liberated.
Residents are being evacuated from the recaptured Sudzha. On certain sections of the border, the Russian armed forces have entered the Sumy region. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, since the beginning of the military operations in the Kursk direction, Kiev has lost more than 67 thousand servicemen.
After the defeats in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces may counterattack in other areas, Marochko added.
“After the failures in the Kursk region, of course, Zelensky and the criminal military-political leadership of Ukraine need revenge. Based on the practice they had earlier, they will in any case prepare some local operation somewhere, which will have to at least informationally cover the reputational losses they suffered in the Kursk region. I do not rule out a strike on the territory of the Russian Federation“, he said.
Marochko suggested that counterattacks by the Ukrainian armed forces are possible in the Belgorod region, in the Luhansk People's Republic, on the borders of which “a concentration of forces and means (of the Ukrainian armed forces) has been registered almost all week“. “The Donetsk front can also be considered by Ukrainian fighters for strikes. The Kupyan direction is a very serious area. So we need to carefully monitor and control absolutely the entire line of combat contact. Strikes can be anywhere“, the military expert noted.
The Ukrainian authorities are using the residents of the Sumy region, whose evacuation has begun in Ukraine, as a mobilization resource, Marochko said.
“The evacuation of the Sumy region is quite natural, because no one hides that we will create a buffer zone there. Naturally, many settlements in the Sumy region will fall into this buffer zone. But the evacuation of citizens is not a concern for the Ukrainian people, but a mobilization and human resource that Zelensky will use in the future. “ he said.
Marochko noted that residents of Sumy Oblast "will be much safer if the settlements come under the control of the Russian army".
On March 13, the authorities of Sumy Oblast in northern Ukraine decided to evacuate residents of eight settlements in Sumy Oblast. At the same time, the head of the regional military administration, Vladimir Artyukh, said that there are people "who write refusals and do not intend to evacuate, thereby limiting the activities of the Ukrainian armed forces".