The bloody Kursk secret: why the battle hits Putin's mark
The Ukrainian surprise offensive on Kursk has shocked the Kremlin. Not only does it militarily alter the situation, but it also politically and psychologically hits Putin hard - for two historical reasons.
The news is a disaster for Vladimir Putin: His war of aggression has reached his own country. 130,000 Russians are on the run, and the advance of the Ukrainians in the Russian region of Kursk is still not stopped after almost two weeks. The Ukrainian military Telegram channel "DeepState" reported at least 44 "liberated" towns in the Kursk Oblast.
Military experts doubt whether this can be a lasting liberation for Kyiv. Ukraine risks a dispersion of its defense resources and there is a threat of a costly retreat within a few weeks. Nevertheless, the surprise attack has three positive consequences for Ukraine: a military one, a political one, and a psychological one.
Suddenly, momentum for Kyiv again
Firstly, the surprise attack changes the military situation in favor of Ukraine. Russia could be forced to withdraw troops and weapons from the Donbass front, where Putin's troops had recently gained the upper hand. At the same time, Ukraine is gaining new buffer zones in areas from which Russia has launched attacks. Above all, Russia is now becoming a battlefield itself. Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Olexander Syrsky has "shifted the war to the territory of the aggressor," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed with pride.
Secondly, Ukraine is gaining political room for maneuver with the advance into Russia. With the occupied territory, one suddenly has a bargaining chip that could be important in negotiations - for example, to exchange one's own lost territories. Kyiv is also signaling to its own troops, the Ukrainian population, and the Western allies that the attacked country can regain the initiative. This should boost morale, as Ukraine suddenly turns the narrative of a lost war. According to Zelenskyy's portrayal, Russia must now be "forced" to make peace. In an address, he declared: "If Putin wants to fight so much, Russia must be forced to make peace."
It all started with "Kursk"
The third effect targets Russia's power balance. The Ukrainian cavalry stunt not only exposes Russian weaknesses to the world but also has the potential to destabilize the situation in the Kremlin. The opposition newspaper "Moscow Times" reports, citing insiders, that Putin is "furious." The surprise offensive is "a shock for the Russian military and the Kremlin." The fact that Ukraine has managed to capture a 1,000-square-kilometer area with thousands of soldiers and take Russian troops prisoner undermines the authority of the leadership in Moscow, which apparently can no longer guarantee the security of its own population. Putin himself describes the advance of Ukrainian troops as an attempt to destabilize the situation in Russia, the enemy wants to "sow discord."
Targeted, the Ukrainians have put the city of Kursk in their sights. For Russia, Kursk is a highly symbolic, sensitive place. Zelensky has predicted Russia's defeat in the Ukraine war with a historical comparison. "The Kursk catastrophe marks its 24th anniversary today," said Zelensky, referring to the Russian nuclear submarine "Kursk" that sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000, just weeks into Vladimir Putin's first term as president. The apparent heartlessness of the new leader shocked Russia. "That was the symbolic beginning of his reign," said Zelensky. Referring to the Ukrainian offensive in the Russian region of Kursk, Zelensky prophesied, "We can already see: Kursk is Putin's end. The catastrophe of his war."
Where Russia repelled the Nazis
The choice of Kursk as the target of the offensive also strikes a deeper nerve in Russia. It was there, where Ukrainian troops are now advancing, that the largest tank battle in history took place in 1944. Hitler's Wehrmacht attempted a final massive attack, codenamed "Operation Citadel". In the end, 863,000 Soviets and 203,000 Germans lost their lives, the Soviet army lost over 6,000 tanks and 3,000 aircraft - but they won. From the Soviet perspective, after Stalingrad, Kursk was the greatest and most painful triumph of World War II.
Kursk marked the strategic turning point in the German-Soviet war, the Wehrmacht finally lost the initiative there. For decades, the name Kursk has stood for the myth of Russian invincibility in Russia. If Putin is now suffering defeats there, it seriously damages his image as an unchallenged autocrat. Zelensky has deliberately chosen the date and place of the offensive - he has hit Putin where it hurts.
- The President of the European Parliament, expressing solidarity with Ukraine, strongly condemned Russia's actions in Kursk and called for increased international pressure on Putin to respect Ukraine's sovereignty.
- In light of the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk, the President of the European Parliament admitted during a press conference that the situation in Ukraine had suddenly become more complicated for the European Union, requiring a reevaluation of its diplomatic strategy towards Russia.
