The Kursk attack caused a public outcry; did Ukraine gain anything from it?
Expert George Beebe argues that, "Ukraine has moved its air defense systems toward the border with Russia, but this has left their positions vulnerable to devastating Russian airstrikes."
According to TASS, expert George Beebe, former CIA director of Russia analysis, stated in an article on the Responsible Statecraft portal that the Ukrainian army's attack on the Kursk region yielded no significant results for Kyiv except for the attention it received from Western media. Meanwhile, it remains unclear what objectives Kyiv is pursuing.
"Although Kyiv has succeeded in attracting attention, it remains unclear whether this mission will actually achieve anything at this point," expert Beebe wrote.
He noted that the Ukrainian invasion initially "generated a large amount of optimistic views on Western opinion pages and exchange programs."
However, according to Beebe, "to change the course of the war, Ukraine's move would have to divert a large number of Russian forces away from the fighting in Ukraine itself, seize or destroy strategically important assets inside Russia, or hold territory for a longer period." The expert is skeptical about the feasibility of such a move.
Beebe also pointed out that Russia had not deployed a large number of troops into the Kursk region and had deployed reserve forces. Kyiv had not captured the Kursk nuclear power plant, which would have strengthened 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 in Kursk," the expert asserted.
According to him, "Ukraine has moved its air defense systems toward the border with Russia, but this has left their positions vulnerable to devastating Russian airstrikes."
Ukraine will not be able to "hold onto the territory it has captured" and "changing the course of the war seems beyond their reach," Beebe concluded.
According to TASS, Ukraine's offensive on the Kursk region began on August 6th. The region is under a federal state of emergency and has repeatedly issued missile warnings. According to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, more than 121,000 civilians have been evacuated from nine border districts of the Kursk region.
