Ukraine’s Kursk operation aimed to spoil Russia’s plans — expert

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"The gray zone near Tetkino had been in place for over a year. For the first time, Ukrainian Defense Forces entered it at the start of the Kursk operation in the Sudzha direction. Clearly, the idea was to confuse the enemy’s and prevent the Russians from figuring out where our main strike would land. But the operation turned out to be successful, so there was no reason to pull back. This bridgehead is still being used by Ukraine’s Armed Forces, just like in Belgorod," Lakiychuk explained.

He also reminded that Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi confirmed once again that the Kursk operation was successful and achieved its main objectives. The goal was to draw Russian reserves away, lock them in combat, inflict maximum losses and damage, and prevent them from shifting forces to key strike zones.

"Right now, Ukraine’s Defense Forces are continuing these actions and doing so effectively. For example, the brigades that were positioned against our forces in the north — in the Kursk and Belgorod areas — never made it to the Pokrovsk direction, and that’s very important," Lakiychuk said.

• The operation in the Kursk region achieved most of what it aimed for, especially stopping Russia from launching an offensive in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, according to Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief.
• Ukraine’s Defense Forces have once again advanced from the border into Russia’s Kursk region. The strike caught Russia off guard, as it had pulled a large number of troops from that area, according to Oleksii Hetman, reserve major of the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU).