Ukraine could replicate Kursk offensive in other Russian regions – Major General Kryvonos

Major General (Ret.) of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Serhii Kryvonos, a political and military figure who served as First Deputy Commander of the Special Operations Forces (2016-2019) and Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (2019-2020), expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

"The situation is challenging for the Russians because an offensive in the Kursk region could be replicated in other areas as well. There are numerous critically dangerous targets along Russia's border, and they recognize that covering all locations is not feasible. Therefore, the priority is to destabilize the situation and build on any successes achieved," he noted.

Kryvonos also questioned whether Russia could amass the necessary potential to push Ukrainian forces back to the Ukrainian border.

"What helps us is that the Russian-Ukrainian border is quite long, making it too difficult for the Russians to cover all sections. After our previous raids on Russian territory, they stationed between 7,000 and 15,000 troops in each border region. Currently, this number may be slightly increasing, plus they have internal reserves and up to 15-17 regiments in the combat zone on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. Our task is to draw as many Russian forces towards us as possible. Whether we can hold them back, time will tell," he said.

What is known about cross-border raid 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.”

Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate refused to comment on the statements regarding the Kursk region. However, NV media, citing its own source in Ukrainian intelligence, wrote that the events in the Kursk region "definitely did not involve fighters of the Russian Volunteer Corps, who are fighting as part of Ukraine's Armed Forces.”

The Institute for the Study of War noted that the Russian Defense Ministry, acting governor of the Kursk region Alexei Smirnov, and some propagandists have different versions of the events in the Kursk region.

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 the same day, Russian media reported that workers at the Kursk nuclear power plant feared that the plant's management had not prepared for a possible attack by the Ukrainian armed forces.

Additionally, in the Kursk region, the Russians have started forming UAV operator units from civilians, providing them with up to 10 hours of training.

On August 7, a state of emergency was introduced in the Kursk region.

On August 8, the Institute for War Studies reported that Ukrainian troops confirmed advancing up to 10 km deep into the Kursk region as mechanized offensives continued.