Two-and-a-half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour, Ukraine turned the war on its head and launched a lightning attack on the Southern Kursk region. Perhaps having waited enough for his allies to join the fight or do something more substantial than warm embraces or promises of Nato membership, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saw it better to send “war…home to Putin.”
The latest strike (on the third bridge so far) substantiates his claims to expand the captured territory although both sides seem to disagree on the actual area that was seized. Mr Zelenskiy may still be on the defensive as he attempts to shied the strategic city of Pokrovsk against Russian advances, but one thing is certain: his intricately-planned clandestine operation to breach Russia’s border has managed to send shockwaves in all directions.
However, it is still unclear if he wants to use this as a bargaining chip to end the prolonged war. Going by a giddy presser that saw him praise the incursion and claim that his country sought to “destroy as much Russian war potential as possible,” it could mean he is trying to find a suitable position to ensure local success as well as taking long-range strikes like Russian forces. We may even hear of
missile launches against civilian infrastructure and the Russian arsenal in the coming days, but how this bold gamble will impact regional stability cannot be ascertained as of now. Whether a game-changing breakthrough that spells to countries like the US that Ukrainians are willing to take extreme measures for the sake of their safety or a catastrophic failure with significant costs in arms and personnel, we might be gearing up for a modern adaptation of World War II where an exasperated Soviet Union had decided to push back against Germany in Battle of Kursk. It is not every day that one sees a direct hit to a ruthless, strongman image projected by Russian President Vladimir Putin. *