As tanks and infantry push into Russian soil in an unexpected turn in the conflict since last week, Ukrainian soldiers involved in the operation are celebrating a major setback for Moscow.
Unlike their brothers in arms who crashed into Russia’s sturdy defenses during kyiv’s major counteroffensive last year, Ukrainian soldiers crossed the border quickly and easily this time.
“They didn’t protect the border,” said a soldier with the nom de guerre “Roujyk.”
“They only had anti-personnel mines scattered around the trees along the road and a few mines that they managed to throw hastily along the highways,” he adds.
Ukraine says it has committed thousands of troops to Russia’s Kursk region since August 6 in a lightning operation that caught the Kremlin off guard and resulted in the capture of dozens of towns.
For its part, Russia sent reinforcements to thwart the offensive and evacuated more than 100,000 residents.
The speed of the Ukrainian attack — the first by a foreign army in Russia since World War II — contrasts with the fierce battles Russian forces are fighting to capture every city in Ukraine in the third year of the invasion.
“Russian sufficiency”
“This is another example of Russian complacency,” Ukrainian military analyst Mykola Bielieskov told AFP. “Russia assumed that since it had the initiative elsewhere, Ukraine would not dare to do what it did.”
While the operation on Russian soil has helped boost the morale of Ukrainian troops who badly needed it, it also raises questions about the Russian response.
Both Moscow and kyiv have been tight-lipped about the scale and details of the fighting in the region.
kyiv claimed on Monday that it controls 1,000 km2 of Russian territory after six days of attack. According to an AFP analysis on Tuesday based on data provided by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the troops controlled 800 km2.
Adjusting his backpack and assault rifle before heading back to the Russian side of the border, squad leader “Pharaoh”, 27, is tight-lipped but straightforward.
“I saw a lot of dead people in the first few days. At first it was terrifying, but you get used to it,” he told AFP.
“Many have died,” he repeats, along a forest road leading to Russia.
In a verdant clearing where Ukrainian tank crews prepare for deployment, a commander describes the operation as a morale boost for an army short of men and weapons.
“There has been no significant victory in Ukraine in recent months. Only the Russians were advancing,” he emphasizes.
According to him, this incursion into Russian territory is de facto a victory for Ukraine because it will force the Kremlin to reinforce other depleted border regions with troops that will therefore not be sent into Ukrainian territory.
“If they keep forces in Kursk that they cannot use (in Ukraine), that is already a success,” he said. “Let’s see how it develops.”
No respite in the East
However, Russian attacks on the eastern front in the Donetsk region – one of Vladimir Putin’s main objectives – are showing little sign of slowing down, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP on Saturday.
According to ISW, Russian forces have continued to advance in this industrial region in recent days.
In Ukrainian border villages, several soldiers speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity say Russia is dropping quantities of gliding bombs to thwart the assault.
In Sumy, the main city in the Ukrainian side of the zone, a war memorial to Soviet soldiers killed during World War II faces another honoring the victims of the Russian invasion launched in February 2022.
According to some Ukrainian soldiers, Russia was so surprised by the incursion that aerial bombardment was its only defensive option while waiting for reinforcements to arrive, and drones — ubiquitous in the Donetsk region — were absent in Kursk.
What is the ultimate goal of the Ukrainian operation? The question remains open.
The senior official interviewed by AFP in kyiv claimed that it was a question of “destabilizing” Russia, a theory also mentioned by Vladimir Putin.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhiy said that Ukraine was not seeking to “annex” Russian territories.
According to the Russian president, Ukraine could also seek to take pledges for hypothetical peace negotiations.
According to Mr. Bielieskov, kyiv’s ability to hold the captured territories will depend partly on Moscow’s choice: to try to retake them or to dig in to prevent any further advances?
“I see no reason why Ukraine cannot extract a high price from Russia if it tries to get these territories back,” he said.
While Putin has ordered his army to “expel” Ukrainian forces, soldier “Rujik” says he expects a vigorous Russian response.
“I wouldn’t say the fighting is particularly tough right now. But yes, it will become so soon.”