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Has Zelensky altered the course of the war - or fatally poked the Russian bear? Experts reveal just what Ukraine hopes to achieve with Kursk offensive and whether it could prove a tactical masterstroke
UK Daily Mail ^ | 13 August 2024 | By David Averre

Posted on 08/13/2024 12:24:24 PM PDT by dennisw

Whether it could prove a tactical masterstroke

MailOnline examines the invasion so far and assesses what may come next

On Tuesday, August 6, around 1,000 brave Ukrainian soldiers supported by a few tanks launched what seemed like a reckless at best - and catastrophic at worst - incursion into Russia's Kursk region.

Within 48 hours of the first reports of the border breach, Russia's stonefaced army chief Valery Gerasimov - who reportedly dismissed intelligence reports indicating a Ukrainian troop buildup along the border two weeks prior - declared the invasion had been stopped in its tracks.

Now, one week later, not only have Kyiv's soldiers made a fool of Gerasimov, but AFU commander Oleksandr Syrskyi claims his troops have seized one square kilometre of territory for each soldier that poured across the border - and that the initial invasion force has been reinforced by thousands more troops backed by Western armour.

With the offensive still grinding on, a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson declared today that 'as long as Putin continues the war, he will receive such responses from Ukraine'.

That defiant statement came hours after his president Volodymyr Zelensky told the world that 'war was coming home' to Russia and vowed to 'kill the Russian terrorists where they are and where they launch their strikes from'.

MailOnline spoke to several experts to examine the invasion so far, explain what its goals might be, and predict how long the valiant Ukrainian units tasked with launching the first invasion of Russia since World War II can hope to hold out.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 0dailytroll; consequences; davidaverre; doorknobmaximus; escalation; flyingmonkimus; jadmptbeem; killkillkillforpeace; mic; minumuswittimus; sededindedovic; spamspamspam; tothelastukrainian; ukraine; welfarewar; wrongbromaximus; zeeperporn
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To: dennisw
All the Ukrainians in Russian territory will die unless they retreat.

There is zero chance of them reaching the Kursk nuclear plant or holding the territory.

21 posted on 08/13/2024 1:23:08 PM PDT by Kazan
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To: thesligoduffyflynns

The war hawks of metro DC are able to wage war with no American causalities.

They’re as happy as I would be drinking fine wine paid for by other people.


22 posted on 08/13/2024 1:25:17 PM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: TonyinLA

I presume they can cut off attacks from the area and perhaps supply lines, I do not know. But that would be logical.

They displaced a lot of Russians, which makes the discontent in Russia greater; this war is very unpopular.

Russia would also (probably) have to move its troops from the Ukraine to answer this. That would be of great strategic value.

And it’s a morale thing. Kind of like the Doolittle raiders.


23 posted on 08/13/2024 1:27:19 PM PDT by MeanWestTexan (Sometimes There Is No Lesser Of Two Evils)
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To: dennisw
Putin No Talks, Kiev Regime Change Needed; Ukr Heavy Losses, Kursk Stalled, Pokrovsk Battle Starts
24 posted on 08/13/2024 1:27:34 PM PDT by Kazan
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To: TonyinLA
If to improve their negotiating position, they miscalculated.

That's not known yet. Did the Russians miscalculate when they invaded Ukraine?

No ‘peace talks’ will begin while they hold these positions. They are temporary,

Not true. The Russians hold Ukraine territory, and now the Ukrainians hold Russian territory. Tit-for-tat. You come tinto my house, I have the right to go into your house. You take what's mine, I have the right tote what's yours. See how that works? .

at best, with no air cover,

Air cover is not the only way to support troops on the ground.

no trenching, no fixed defenses,

Not true. Russia tried to stop them, and met with very stiff resistance. And the Ukrainians continue to advance deeper into Russia.

INSIDE OF RUSSIA. The russkies won’t take long to eradicate them.

Like I said, the Russkies tried to stop them and met with very stiff resistance, with many thousands of Russkies dead.

Then what? How many dead for a failed PR stunt?

And, what have the Russians achieved with their invasion of Ukraine? hundreds of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands injured, tens of thousands widows and tens of thousands kids left fatherless, and hundreds of billions lost in a very costly war. Plus international condemnation, including being banned from the Olympics.

Russia is stuck fighting a war which they can't win, and the Kremlin is panicking.
25 posted on 08/13/2024 1:28:30 PM PDT by adorno (CCH)
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To: Brian Griffin

The Russia operation in Kursk is being run by Putin’s ex-bodyguard and the FSB. Not the Ministry of Defense.


26 posted on 08/13/2024 1:31:06 PM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: dennisw

The last time Kursk was invaded, it was the NAZIS, and we all know how that turned out. The Germans used a force of 500,000. The Soviets counter attacked with 1,300,000 soldiers. This was a horrible strategic move on the part of Zelensky. Gives the Russians now more motivation to extract more from their own soldiers and increase troop strength. I see bad ending for Ukraine here.


27 posted on 08/13/2024 1:33:31 PM PDT by LibFreeUSA
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To: dennisw

Initially, I assumed it was a counter attack.

Now reports are they are digging in. Not sure that is going to be a smart move. Eventually Russia will get around to going after the incursion


28 posted on 08/13/2024 1:36:30 PM PDT by redgolum
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To: DesertRhino

You will figure out what is going on when Ukraine takes Transnistria. Ukraine as part of NATO is a done deal. It will happen and that is just one part of the strategic defeat Russia has suffered. Sweden and Finland are now in NATO too and the Poles are arming up big time. Russia needs to sue for peace now before they lose even more of what they invaded for. Putin can stay or go. Nobody in the West cares. Eventually he will be replaced or die and eventually the revanchists in Russia there is no future for Russia outside of the West. China will gobble them up otherwise and it will be a new Mongol Yoke.


29 posted on 08/13/2024 1:42:50 PM PDT by your other brother
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To: dennisw

It’s a suicide mission.


30 posted on 08/13/2024 1:44:33 PM PDT by McGruff (Are you better off than you were four years ago?)
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To: PIF

He was the son of a general officer. He was himself a general officer, and is the hand picked and groomed successor to Putin.

This is no longer a military operation. It is an anti-terrorist operation.

The very fact that this guy is getting the credit means that Russia has this well in hand and it is just another reason for the people of Russia to vote for him after gets credit for destroying 15,000 Ukie’s and shortens the war by months.


31 posted on 08/13/2024 1:54:35 PM PDT by Jumper
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To: DesertRhino

Ukraine already lost. All the Nation’s whose diplomacy after the coup in Ukraine gave them ownership of everything not nailed down, to include the soil, is under Western management, ownership or our western governments who secured loans using every Ukrianian’s brithright of their nation. Their nation was leveraged to debt by our hand picked traitorus Uke thieves. The people selecteed by the west to run Ukraine have even made statements to the effect that their will be no Ukrainians left to complain about their Nation being under foreign western ownership.

The only Beef the US has with foreign ownership is that we lose our pennys on the dollar investment in Ukraine when it goes under Russian Management, who will give it back to “their” Ukrainian people debt free from the West.


32 posted on 08/13/2024 1:59:49 PM PDT by Jumper
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33 posted on 08/13/2024 2:09:43 PM PDT by Who is John Galt? ("...mit Pulver und Blei, Die Gedanken sind frei!")
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To: dennisw

Zalensky does as he’s told.....CIA/NSA/New World Order calls the shots..


34 posted on 08/13/2024 2:39:37 PM PDT by traditional2 ("Is it them, again, Yogi?")
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To: TonyinLA

The most obvious answer is two-fold:
To tear up Russia’s logistic tail, and
to make Russia defend more territory.

1000 men can’t hold more than a single village, but on the move they can make a mess of roads, supply depots, rail lines, and airfields.

Whether they do in fact succeed or not we will see, but those things are certainly doable.


35 posted on 08/13/2024 2:50:33 PM PDT by lepton ("It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into"--Jonathan Swift)
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To: TonyinLA

Attack where the enemy is not. It’s a basic and effective strategy. It will force the Russians to pull troops from the main front line. Not just for a counter attack in Kursk (which Ukraine will probably fast retreat from) but other border areas as Russia is reminded that the whole country is at war, not just where they want the war to be. With less troops on the main front line Russia loses offensive capability and counter attacks to regain territory have a higher chance of success.

Plus of course you have the disruption effect. People fleeing aren’t making war supplies. And maybe the war gets less popular in Russia. Or not. That’s always a 50/50 bet.


36 posted on 08/13/2024 2:58:19 PM PDT by discostu (like a dog being shown a card trick)
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To: dennisw

I’m going with the ‘Fatal Bear Poking’ version of how this plays out... Just hope it doesn’t go nuclear. What an incredibly s***show the world has become, absent powerful (or now, really, ANY) leadership in the United States.


37 posted on 08/13/2024 3:03:25 PM PDT by drwoof
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To: adorno; TonyinLA
including being banned from the Olympics

What - you mean The Big Gay Human Centipede, also known as The Last Globohomo Supper?

Now that I've painted that little word picture for you, doorknob, I suppose you'll be in your bunk.

38 posted on 08/13/2024 3:18:17 PM PDT by kiryandil (FR Democrat Party operatives! Rally in defense of your Colombian cartel stooge Merchan!)
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To: kiryandil
Reminds me of the valiant troopers of Custer's Seventh Cavalry...

Or the brave horsemen of the Light Brigade.
39 posted on 08/13/2024 3:40:48 PM PDT by Colinsky
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To: kiryandil

I’d bet you preferred that Putin’s Russia jad mpt beem banned from the Olympics, but since id did happen, you have no choice but to attack those who supported the ban.

And, ‘bunk’? Is that a code word for something you are very familiar with? I don’t gt around in your circles, so, can you explain how that is part of your life and what it means?


40 posted on 08/13/2024 3:49:37 PM PDT by adorno (CCH)
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