Moscow, Aug 27 (IANS): Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk Region was a high-stake gambit aimed at forcing it to divert troops from a key sector of the front line in the Donbas area, but has failed to meet its objective, Ukraine’s top army commander admitted on Tuesday.
"One of the tasks of conducting an offensive operation in the Kursk direction was to divert significant enemy forces from other directions, first and foremost the Pokrovsk and Kurakhovsk directions," Colonel General Aleksandr Syrsky said at a press conference in the Ukrainian capital, RT reported.
“Of course, the enemy understands this, so it continues to focus its main efforts on the Pokrovsk direction, where its most combat-ready units are concentrated. The enemy is trying to withdraw units from other directions, while in the Pokrovsk direction, on the contrary, it is increasing its efforts," he said, describing the situation in Pokrovsk and Kurakhovsk as “quite difficult” for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
As per RT, Pokrovsk and Kurakhovsk in the western part of the Donetsk People’s Republic sit on key supply roads linking Donetsk with Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye. Pokrovsk is a major logistics hub for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which have heavily fortified the city since 2014.
Russian forces have been conducting heavy attacks on Pokrovsk in recent weeks, with American officials acknowledging on Monday that the Russians have been making "incremental gains" toward the city.
Ukrainian forces invaded Russia’s Kursk Region on August 6, in the largest attack on internationally recognised Russian territory since the outbreak of hostilities in February 2022. The advance was quickly halted by the Russian military, but fighting in the region continues, and Ukrainian troops still hold a number of settlements in the border area.
According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the incursion has cost Ukraine more than 3,400 service members and around 400 armoured vehicles.
The Economist recently reported that Syrsk planned and ordered the attack on Russia’s Kursk Region in a last-ditch attempt to avoid being fired. Citing sources familiar with the planning for Ukraine’s largest cross-border incursion to date, Syrsky was on the verge of being sacked just weeks before the operation began because of the crumbling front in Donbas.
The Ukrainians also reportedly did not inform their Western backers about its Kursk plans, for fear that they would order the operation to be scrapped, or that the details would be leaked.