“Surround the Russian troops. The Armed Forces may have a new strategy in the Kursk direction — Forbes September 17, 08:52 Share: Ukrainian servicemen ride an armored personnel carrier near the border with Russia in the Sumy region. August 2024 (Photo:REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi) Ukraine’s defense forces may have a new strategy in the Kursk area — to move quickly and surround thousands of Russian troops, according to Forbes. Many were shocked when Ukrainian sappers last week”, — write on: ua.news
Ukrainian servicemen ride an armored personnel carrier near the border with Russia in the Sumy region. August 2024 (Photo: REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi)
The Defense Forces of Ukraine may have a new strategy in the Kursk area — to move quickly and surround thousands of Russian troops, according to Forbes.
Many were shocked when last week Ukrainian sappers broke through the defenses of the Russian Federation along the Russian-Ukrainian border south of the village of Novy Shlyah, located approximately 32 km west of the main Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast
If last week it was unclear why the Ukrainian Armed Forces invaded the Novy Shlyakh area, now everything has become a little clearer, the journalists noted. A Ukrainian tactical group, likely based on the 95th Separate Assault Brigade, is advancing past Novy Shlyach and through the southern quarters of the nearest Russian town of Vesele.
Forbes writes that Ukrainian troops are turning in the direction of the main Kursk salient.
“The window of opportunity will not last long.” After the Kursk operation, Russia is in a state of uncertainty: where else could there be strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine — Musienko
“If the Ukrainians advancing northeast of the New Way can connect with the Ukrainians at the main salient, they will cut off potentially thousands of Russians between themselves and the border,” the article says.
It is noted that the local geography can contribute to the attempts of the Defense Forces of Ukraine to surround the troops of the Russian Federation. The Seim River forms a natural border along most of the northern edge of the potential pocket, bounded on the left and right flanks by advancing Ukrainian forces.
According to the publication, the ZSU destroyed all permanent bridges across the Seim in the area, so all Russians south of the river depend on temporary pontoon bridges or a narrow land bridge across the town of Koreneve.
It is for this reason that Ukrainian troops regularly fire on pontoons as soon as the Russians install them. For the same reason, the Armed Forces are advancing on Koreneve, intending to destroy the land bridge, the journalists write.
The publication notes that the balance of power in the Kursk region may also affect the success of the Defense Forces in a potential encirclement. Ukraine allocated about 10,000 military personnel for a bilateral invasion of Kursk. At the same time, Russia has probably sent 38,000 military personnel to the region, but many of them are poorly trained young conscripts, Forbes added.
Operation of the Armed Forces in the Kursk region
On August 12, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time confirmed the operation of the Defense Forces in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.
He emphasized that the goal of the operation, which began on August 6, was to liberate the border territories of Ukraine from Russian troops, which regularly shelled the Sumy region.
On August 27, Zelenskyi said that Ukraine is not occupying the Kursk region of Russia, the operation of the Armed Forces in the region only hinders the Russians’ plans to create a buffer zone on Ukrainian territory.
On September 2, the President of Ukraine reported that the operation in the Kursk region is proceeding according to plan and fulfilling its tasks.
On September 6, he noted that the Armed Forces control 1,300 square kilometers in the Kursk region, where more than 100 settlements are located.
On September 7, the Financial Times, referring to the statements of the heads of the intelligence services, wrote that the Kursk operation of the Armed Forces “sowed doubts among the Russian elite.”
On September 11, the analytical portal DeepState reported that Russian troops began active assault operations in the Kursk region. According to these data, the Russians are trying to attack Ukrainian forces from several directions.
On September 12, Ukrainian troops, with the support of drones and tanks, broke through a new section of the Russian border west of Ukrainian-controlled territories in the Kursk region.
On September 13, Zelenskyi said that thanks to the operation in the Kursk region, it was possible to stop the enemy in the Kharkiv direction and slow down his advance in the Donetsk region.