Strategic steps in a few weeks: expert on Ukrainian army's prospects in Kursk region

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

"Yesterday, on August 16, a bridge near Glushkovo in the Kursk region was bombed, which sets a significant precedent. Our aviation is striking targets on Russian Federation territory, and this has already been officially acknowledged. This also raises the question: where did we acquire the guided bombs to strike Russian territory? After all, it was said that we allegedly receive only 100-130 units of various bombs per month from our Western allies, so we supposedly can't squeeze more out of them, and we don’t have sufficient indigenous weapons. Yet, despite the enemy's air superiority, our aviation is hitting Russian infrastructure with guided munitions," the military expert commented.

According to him, the strike on the bridge over the Seim River in the Glushkovo district of the Kursk region is an important precedent, even if the road bridge only cut access to several villages and creates problems for the tactical grouping of Russian troops.

"If we are talking about something strategically important, we need to think beyond the city of Kurchatov and focus on Lgov, one of the two logistics hubs in the Kursk region. The region has an interesting configuration because there are 1,500 km of railway lines, but they all converge at two railway junctions—Lgov and Kursk. So, if these two junctions are bombed or if Lgov is brought under control, the entire railway network in the Kursk region could be disabled. The railway is vital both for the Russian army and for the export of goods important to the Kremlin, such as grain or iron ore, which help finance the war against Ukraine. Some strategic actions might be taken there in the coming weeks to significantly disrupt Russian logistics at a strategic level," Ivan Kyrychevskyi concluded.

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, 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 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.

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.

At the same time, Ukraine's Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, together with the military, is currently working on a possible route for a humanitarian corridor for civilians from Kursk to Sumy.

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

Also on August 16, the Ukrainian military showed unique footage of the first hours of Ukrainian Defense Forces' offensive in the Kursk region.