Ukrainian incursion “gives hope and perhaps allows us to arrive at another reality”, analyses a Ukrainian journalist

Ukraine says “to strenghten” its positions in the Russian region of Kursk, more than ten days after the launch of a large-scale surprise offensive on Russian soil. This incursion “gives hope” to Ukrainians and “maybe allows us to reach another reality”analyses Tetyana Ogarkova, the journalist responsible for the international department at the NGO Ukraine Crisis Media Center, on franceinfo on Saturday August 17.

“The Russians were not prepared at all. Their army is involved in very heavy fighting in the Donetsk region, so surprise, on another front, played its role”says the Ukrainian journalist. According to her, “Russians are sacrificing the Kursk region in order not to lose forces in the Donetsk region.”

The Russian army, for its part, said “push back” new assaults by kyiv, while continuing to pound several regions of Ukraine, notably in Donbass, where it has the advantage over Kiev’s outnumbered forces. On August 6, the Ukrainian army attacked the Kursk region, seizing, according to Kiev, 82 localities and 1,150 square kilometers in an offensive that surprised Moscow.