Ukrainian forces likely to expand presence in Russia — military expert Sniehyriov

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

“The Ukrainian General Staff has effectively outplayed the Russians. The successful advance of the Ukrainian Defense Forces near the settlements of Vedmezhye, Veseloye, and Novy Rut in the Glushkovsky district of the Kursk region has raised concerns among the Russians about the threat of the Ukrainian forces reaching the Glushkovo railway station. I do not rule out that the Ukrainian Defense Forces will continue to successfully target Russia's pontoon crossings on the Seim River, which would hinder the Russian occupiers' ability to transfer operational reserves and heavy armored vehicles to break through the Ukrainian defense in the area of Lyubimovka,” Sniehyriov said.

According to the co-chairman of the Prava Sprava NGO, the key takeaway from the last day is that it is quite possible for the zone of presence of the Ukrainian Defense Forces to expand into other regions of the Russian Federation, primarily Belgorod and Bryansk.

“A series of successful strikes on the Russian army's rear infrastructure in the Bryansk region resulted in the destruction of field ammunition depots and permanent equipment deployment sites. A similar situation is observed in the Belgorod region. Moreover, the Russians themselves do not rule out the possibility of a repeat of the Kursk scenario in the Belgorod region. They are talking about mining hydraulic structures in this area in order to stop a possible successful offensive by Ukrainian troops,” Sniehyriov explained.

Ukraine’s cross-border incursion in Russia’s Kursk region

On August 6, the authorities of Russia's Kursk region stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly tried to break through the Russian border, but were allegedly pushed back. Later, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that "the Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group retreated to its territory.”

On August 7, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin convened the Russian military leadership to discuss the situation in the Kursk region, which he called a "large-scale provocation." At the time, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on the international community to "strongly condemn the Kyiv regime's criminal attacks on Russian territory."

On August 10, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called the operation in the Kursk region “pushing the war into the aggressor's territory.” On the night of the same day, the authorities introduced a counterterrorism operation in the Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod regions of Russia.

On August 14, it was reported that the Ukrainian military had formed a “sanitary (buffer) zone” for self-defense in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. It is planned to open humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians, and if necessary, military commandant's offices will be established in the Russian region.

At a meeting with the president on August 15, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Ukraine had established the first military commandant's office in the Kursk region to provide humanitarian aid to local residents.

On August 15, The Independent reported that about 2,000 Russian servicemen were captured during an operation by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region.

On September 13, it became known that in August 2024, Russians submitted 1927 appeals to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin regarding missing or captured soldiers. This is a record number since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

On the same day, Zelenskyy said that Russia was seeking to bring 60-70 thousand of its troops to the Kursk region. According to him, Russia has launched a rapid offensive there, but has not had any serious success.

On September 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that about 40,000 Russian troops had been diverted to the Kursk direction thanks to the Armed Forces' operation in the region.