But, unusually for him, I think he misses the real reason for the Kursk operation. It is not military (as he demonstrates, it makes no sense in military terms) but political. The goal is to show Ukraine can fight and win victories, and therefore deserves continuing support. Even as they continue to fall back in the Donbass facing much more serious losses than anything gained in this offensive.
How sad and pathetic is it that Ukraine must engage in such theater, in the hope of pleasing its western masters, and is on the clock to do so.
Trump being elected will change things radically, and even Harris being elected hardly means automatic support. One can imagine her woke advisors coming in will not want to be saddled with "Joe Biden's" failed war and want their own clean slate.
Very informative article. It is now all to obvious the Ukies have miscalculated again and succeeded , unknowingly, in turning the Donbass over to Vlad.
Just another repeat of the Ukies massive failed summer offensive. The losses ( as listed) are horrendous, for what? Anyone closely following this conflict knew it was an insane roll of the dice…..” the Last Ukrainian “ comes to mind- again.
"Kampfgruppe ShizzPantz"
In the Bloggers & Personal forum, on a thread titled Back to the Bloodlands: Operation Krepost [Big Serge on Kursk operation], EnderWiggin1970 wrote: As usual Serge does a great job of cutting to the meat of the matter and identifying key data often missed by the general news media. (His comments at the Ukrainian Kampfgruppe cobbled together for the Kursk offensive and what it implies about the state of the Ukrainian military being a good example.) But, unusually for him, I think he misses the real reason for the Kursk operation. It is not military (as he demonstrates, it makes no sense in military terms) but political. The goal is to show Ukraine can fight and win victories, and therefore deserves continuing support. Even as they continue to fall back in the Donbass facing much more serious losses than anything gained in this offensive.
I enjoyed reading the OP and your post.
My opinion about the goals of the operation has not yet stabilized.
I think your theory is part of the right answer. Mercouris or Christoforou had recently said, the Ukrainians are trying to hold out until November. I've been thinking, Biden has given the Ukraine 200 Billion dollars of taxper funds to conceal the extensive DNC crimes, and Biden family's own corruption there. The DNC pretends it's interested in 'freedom' while they work to strip American freedom's away. The DNC waves little blue and yellow flags in Congress because it looks so much nicer than admitting they will give Ukraine more than the US can afford in order to protect the toxic crime hub which helps many corrupt Democrats and the DNC (Republicans too) launder money, engage in treason, steal elections etc.
So this 'hold out until November' has me thinking that, while the DNC/Biden crime family et. al. want to conceal their crimes (election theft etc.), they dare not 'let' the Ukraine fall or surrender prior to Nov 5, no matter the Ukrainian losses and the hopelessness of their war efforts, because the public would realize they've been lied to about the state of affairs in Ukraine for quite some time, that their 200 billion taxpayer dollars were given to the Ukraine when the US knew it had no chance of winning. Biden recently promised to give the Ukraine more money. The DNC is trying to distance Kamala Harris by saying she doesn't favor the Ukraine (or was it Zelensky she said she didn't favor?). It won't be enough- the DNC/DeepState/Biden's handlers are thinking it may cost them the election if the truth of the Ukraine war is exposed.
So the Ukraine is forced to keep up the ruse - keep acting like they can fight. It's ghoulish, really. Zelensky sold his soul, and those of all who are now running out of vehicles, weapons, fuel in Kursk. The MSM helped.
But the Ukraine has information on Biden, too. It's a difficult dance - Biden forces Ukraine; Ukraine warns the west what might be exposed if allowed to fall.
The Deep State is desperate. I do think they are not above trying to damage parts of the reactor to force the Russians to remove troops from Ukraine. Nuclear blackmail because the Donbas can't hold, the Ukrainians were short of men and everything they need to fight BEFORE they sent 15,000 to Kursk with valuable air defense, armored vehicles, artillary etc. So I think this about getting the Deep State's Democratic puppets to the election without exposing the truth about the Ukraine, and once again, the upper tiers don't care what happens to those who actually fight and die in the false belief they're saving their country. What happens to Zelensky when Ukraine falls - all those men he betrayed with false promises of victory, and now they can't even come home from Kursk.
“The sudden and unexpected eruption of combat in Kursk oblast has , of course raised comparisons to the 1943 Battle of Kursk ..”
Such complete idiocy defies comprehension.
“It is not military (as he demonstrates, it makes no sense in military terms) but political. “
Initially, I felt this was a spoiling attack. One designed to humiliate the Kremlin and force them to move assets to deal with it. Now, I can see another possibility, a strategic one, if played right. The Russian propaganda could actually be used against Russia here, as they could continue to ignore the advances. Secondarily, it could be a way to force Russia to commit more resources in the short term. This could have strategic advantages if Russia is burning out economically or from demand exceeding supply. Clearly, it exposes Russian supply lines in the north to a longer period of attack by Ukrainian drones.
We shall see.