The attack on Kursk caused a stir in public opinion, did Ukraine gain real benefits?
"Ukraine has moved air defense assets toward the Russian border, but this has exposed their positions to devastating Russian air strikes," said expert George Beebe.
According to TASS, expert George Beebe, former director of Russia analysis at the CIA, said in an article on the Responsible Statecraft portal that the Ukrainian army's offensive in the Kursk region did not bring any significant results for Kiev except for the attention of the Western media. Meanwhile, it is still unclear what goals Kiev is pursuing.
“While Kiev has been successful in attracting attention, it is unclear at this point what this mission will actually achieve,” writes Beebe.
He noted that the initial Ukrainian invasion “generated a large amount of optimistic views on Western opinion sites and talk shows.”
However, according to Mr. Beebe, "to change the course of the war, Ukraine's move would have to divert a large number of Russian forces from fighting in Ukraine itself, capture or destroy strategically important assets inside Russia, or hold territory for a longer period of time." This expert is skeptical about the above possibility.
Mr Beebe also pointed out that Russia had not sent large numbers of troops into the Kursk region and had deployed reserves. Kiev had not captured the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant to increase its “bargaining power” in negotiations.
And "Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian armored forces, troop concentrations, fuel depots and supply lines prevented Ukraine from consolidating its initial success at Kursk," the expert asserted.
According to him, "Ukraine has moved air defense assets towards the border with Russia, but this has exposed their positions to devastating Russian airstrikes."
Ukraine will not be able to “hold the territory it has captured” and “changing the course of the war seems beyond its reach,” Beebe concluded.
According to TASS, the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region began on August 6. The region is under a federal state of emergency and has been on missile alert several times. According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, more than 121,000 civilians have been evacuated from nine border districts of the Kursk region.
