Russia's army remains strong enough even after start of Kursk operation - Ukrainian major

He spoke about this on Espreso TV.

“In general, according to some analysts' estimates, the Russians have concentrated about 70,000 personnel in the north of Ukraine, 50,000 of whom are involved in the Vovchansk direction. This is all together with reserves, with everything they have accumulated. And there are another 10 thousand Russian troops in the Belgorod and Kursk regions. In fact, they don't have a lot of personnel there, but they are mostly conscripts, if we are talking about the Kursk direction. And the morale of the conscripts, who saw that Akhmat was tea, not strength, was, of course, severely undermined. In addition, there was absolutely no information in the media, no one was promoting the upcoming counteroffensive,” commented Ihor Lapin.

According to him, the suddenness and unexpectedness made it possible for Ukraine to achieve such results in the Kursk region.

“As for Russia's capabilities, let's not forget that the Russian army remains the second army in the world that has a very serious number of personnel in addition to the forces concentrated on Ukrainian territory. Almost all conscripts are now starting to sign contracts. Although conscripts do not know what active combat operations are. Be that as it may, the Russians still have very serious defense lines. We have seen videos of the defense lines in the Kursk region, and the fact that we broke through them is still an element of surprise and our skill,” said the Ukrainian Armed Forces major.

Lapin summarized that the Russian army is still quite strong and has a lot of forces and means, although it is now scattered and has to respond to these challenges, but there is no information that Russian troops are moving their forces from the Donetsk direction.

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."

Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh stated that Ukraine’s actions in the Kursk region in Russia "are consistent with U.S. policy" and do not cause any escalation.

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

On August 13, John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the White House National Security Council, said that if Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is concerned about the events in the Kursk region, he may end the war.

The advance of Ukraine’s Defense Forces in Russia’s Kursk region continues, with 74 settlements currently under Ukrainian control. Inspections and stabilization measures are being carried out there.

On August 14, it became known that the Ukrainian military had formed a “sanitary (buffer) zone” for self-defense in the Kursk region of Russia. 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.

On August 14, over 100 Russian soldiers surrendered to the Ukrainian Defense Forces in Russia's Kursk region.

The Financial Times reported that Ukraine has begun negotiations with Russia on the exchange of prisoners captured in the Kursk region.

On August 15, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that Ukraine had established the first military commandant's office in the Kursk region.

On August 16, a bridge over the Seim River in the Glushkovsky district of Russia's Kursk region was destroyed.