Ukrainian forces must exit Kursk region invincible to expose Russian weakness - military expert

He shared his views on Espreso TV.

“If the General Staff believes that Russian troops in the Kursk region outnumber Ukrainian forces and that we need to hold out for only two more days, then the best decision would be to lower the Ukrainian flag over Sudzha and exit the region with dignity. This would prevent the Russians from claiming they forced us out. In reality, we would be choosing to leave on our own terms, preserving lives, equipment, and resources while demonstrating the weakness of the Russians,” Stupak said.

He also pointed out that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are no longer advancing as quickly as they did in the early days of the operation in the Kursk region. Instead, there is a Russian advance near the village of Snagost.

"Let's put aside the issue of betrayal right away. There’s a group of people who only want to hear positive news. If they don’t get it, they label anyone who points out problems as FSB agents. They say, 'What are you talking about? We’re winning. We’re holding 100 settlements in the Russian Federation.' That’s true, but it’s important to understand the cost. We still don’t fully know how many of our guys and girls we’ve lost in this operation. It hasn’t been easy. In the first 48 hours, Ukraine seized 350 square kilometers in the Kursk region, which was a bold move, and the Russians didn’t know how to respond. Now, there’s no such advance, instead, the Russians are making progress near the village of Snagost. 

According to Deep State's map, Ukraine directly controls only 800 square kilometers of the Kursk region, with about 300 more in the gray zone, where it’s unclear whether we or the Russians control the area. The question now is: how many more people are we willing to sacrifice to hold onto these settlements? How much equipment and ammunition do we have? What about the Russians? We need to take all this into account and understand both ourselves and our enemy,” the military expert concluded.

• The situation on the Ukrainian group's left flank in the Kursk region worsened as the Russian forces began active assault operations. DeepState reported on September 11.

• On September 13, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia is attempting to deploy 60,000 to 70,000 troops to the Kursk region, where Ukraine’s operation is ongoing.

• The Institute for the Study of War stated that the Russian army continued its counterattack in the Kursk region, but achieved only minor success, likely due to the ongoing Ukrainian offensive and defensive actions.