Ukrainian forces capture over 100 in Kursk, make territorial gains
The armed forces of Ukraine have taken more than 100 Russian soldiers captive in the Kursk region and have advanced 1 to 2 kilometers in various directions since the start of the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday. Earlier, he spoke with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
"We are advancing in the Kursk region, one to two kilometers in various areas since the beginning of the day. We have captured more than 100 Russian servicemen during this period. I am grateful to everyone involved; this will accelerate the return of our guys and girls home," Zelensky emphasized.
Syrskyi, in turn, informed the head of state that the destruction of the enemy group in the village of Sudzha in the Kursk region had been completed. "The search for and destruction of the enemy in the village of Sudzha has been completed," he told Zelensky.
"Morning report by Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on the situation across all major directions, particularly in the Toretsk and Pokrovsk areas, as well as the operation in the Kursk region. We are not forgetting our eastern front for a second. I have instructed the Commander-in-Chief to strengthen this direction using the equipment and supplies currently provided by our partners," Zelensky emphasized.
How will Putin respond?
According to retired Col. Piotr Lewandowski from the Territorial Defence Forces Training Centre, two Russian responses should be expected after Ukraine begins operations in the Kursk region.
- One is to expel the Ukrainian troops from the area that the Ukrainians occupied after entering the territory of the Russian Federation. The second is a likely massive airstrike on targets in Ukraine. These could be major cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa, and Sumy. The Kremlin will likely say that since Kyiv committed an act of terror, Russia can respond with a bombing attack - he told WP in an interview.
As he recalls, Russia will argue that this is an anti-terrorist operation and that the terrorists are Ukrainians. "In the Russian doctrine, any attack on their territory should be met with a nuclear weapons response. But Putin will not respond like that. He will not say that the Ukrainian operation is Kyiv conducting a full-scale war because he would be criticized for not using nuclear weapons. So he will manoeuvre," the former military official said.
