Kursk Operation: Policy Instead of Strategy – Expert

The Kursk operation, which began as a successful military maneuver, eventually turned into a strategic mistake, which led to the loss of five cities and 102 villages in the Donbass. The political decision to maintain the occupied territory of the Russian Federation instead of a rapid raid undermined Ukraine’s defense capability and proved to be a failure.

Military expert Andriy Vasylchuk emphasizes that the shift of priorities in military logic to political ambitions caused a devastating blow to the defense of Ukraine and posted additional threats. Kursk The operation, which was initially a successful breakthrough of 30 km deep into the Russian territory, later turned into a grueling holding of positions with stretched supply lines.

According to military expert Konstantin Nikolaenko, “tactically it was one of the most successful breakthroughs since the 1995 Storm Operation. Initially, a classic raid was planned: rapid penetration, strokes, capture important documents and promptly departing for prepared positions. However, the political leadership of Ukraine has decided to use captured Russian territories as an argument in future negotiations, and this decision led to failure.
Temporary territorial achievements did not bring any diplomatic advantage to Ukraine, but instead distracted significant forces of the Armed Forces and contributed to the loss of positions in the Donbass. “The political prestige of the Russian territory has turned the loss of strategically important Ukrainian lands. This is a classic mistake of changing military priorities political, ”Nikolaenko notes.

Another serious mistake was the delayed decision to complete the operation. In December 2024, the military and intelligence services were warned of the danger of maintaining the Kursk region, but the political leadership of Ukraine delayed the decision. The departure from the occupied positions began only in March 2025, when the situation was aggravated, and the enemy accumulated strength in other directions.

According to experts, the main reason for this failure is the lack of a clear distinction between the political and military spheres of responsibility. Political ambitions again took the mountain over military expediency, and instead of a brilliant operation, the Kursk campaign turned into a strategic failure. Stretched front, weakened defense in the Donbass, a new threat in the Sumy direction – the price of such a decision was occupied cities and villages and the increasing threat of further enemy offensive.

Source: kp.ua