Associated Press reports via Defense News that the invasion into the Russian Kursk region aims to create a buffer zone. They write:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday the daring military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region aims to create a buffer zone to prevent further attacks by Moscow across the border.
It was the first time Zelenskyy clearly stated the aim of the operation that began Aug. 6. Previously, he had said the operation aimed to protect communities in the bordering Sumy region from constant shelling.
Zelenskyy said “it is now our primary task in defensive operations overall: to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions. This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory -– our operation in the Kursk region,” he said in his nightly address. […]
On Saturday, Zelenskyy urged Kyiv’s allies to lift remaining restrictions on using Western weapons to attack targets deeper in Russia, including in Kursk, saying his troops could deprive Moscow “of any ability to advance and cause destruction” if granted sufficient long-range capabilities.
“It is crucial that our partners remove barriers that hinder us from weakening Russian positions in the way this war demands. … The bravery of our soldiers and the resilience of our combat brigades compensate for the lack of essential decisions from our partners,” Zelenskyy said on the social platform X. […]
Lukashenko, in power for three decades, has relied on Russian support to suppress the biggest protests in Belarus’ post-Soviet history after his 2020 reelection, widely seen as a sham both at home and abroad. He allowed Russian troops to use Belarus’ territory to invade Ukraine and let Moscow deploy some tactical nuclear weapons on its soil.
Read more here.
Russia Has Yet to Divert Troops
Christopher Miller of Financial Times tells his readers that Russia has yet to divert troops from the fiercest battles in the Donetsk region to defend its own territory. Miller writes:
Kyiv’s forces have in two weeks seized more land in Russia than Moscow has in Ukraine all year — transforming perceptions about their capabilities and boosting morale among Ukrainians.
But that stunning operational success has yet to deliver one crucial objective: diverting Russia’s manpower and easing pressure in the hottest battlefields in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow is steadily advancing.
Russian soldiers are still grinding their way through Ukrainian defences, capturing villages and towns and bringing Moscow closer to its stated goal of complete control of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. […]
Home to more than 60,000 residents, Pokrovsk is a significant logistical hub for Ukraine’s military and a linchpin for its defence of the rest of Donetsk region.
Over the weekend, Serhiy Dobriak, head of Pokrovsk city military administration, urged residents — particularly families with children and elderly people — to evacuate immediately. […]
“We had no choice,” said Viktor, a retired miner. Myrnohrad, he added, whose name translates as “city of peace”, was being “wiped away”.
Read more here.
