The CIA's deputy director, David Cohen, says that retaking the Kursk region will be a major challenge for the Russians. According to Cohen, the Ukrainians are establishing more and more defensive positions and seem to intend to stay in Kursk for a long time. “At least for now,” says Russian correspondent Joost Bosman.
CIA: Retaking Kursk would be a major challenge for the Russians
According to Cohen, not only will it be “a tough battle anyway,” but an important psychological factor also plays a role – the front line is now in Russia itself. It may be difficult for Russian society to absorb this in the long run. And it will certainly have an impact.
'Russian media also do not show what is happening in Kursk'
Media ignores Kursk
Asked why Russia has not launched a counterattack and how the Russian public is reacting to the stalemate, Bosman said Russian state media are downplaying the whole operation. “The media also doesn’t show what’s going on in Kursk.” While a massive influx of refugees began at the start of the invasion, the Russian government used images of them to show how successful relief efforts were.
Moreover, the Defense Ministry reports daily that many Ukrainian troops and equipment have been destroyed. “This is the focus.” Another possible reason for the lack of interest in Kursk is that the conquest of Donbass is a priority for Putin. This is what Putin is betting on. With this, he can also put pressure on the regime in Kiev.
Special knife
From his point of view, Putin could bring the Kiev regime to its knees by occupying the Donbas region. “He considers it less important at the moment that almost a thousand square kilometers of his territory remain in Ukrainian hands.” In that case, the Ukrainians would have fallen on their own with the invasion. On the other hand, the creation of a buffer zone around Kursk to prevent missiles and drones from being launched from that direction seems to be somewhat successful.
“But we also saw that the rest of the shelling was continuing all over Ukraine.” Another goal was to bring troops from Donbas to relieve Kursk, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. “In that sense, Ukraine miscalculated to some extent, but on the other hand, Russia can’t send additional troops to Donbas because of the situation.”
Sign up now for the BNR newsletter for your daily dose of news and podcast tips. In your inbox every morning and/or afternoon so you're always in the know. Stay sharp.
