Battle for Kursk is Developing into a Full Blown War
A war in its own right
From a battle strategy perspective, Ukraine had several objectives in Kursk. They employed a layered strategy where achieving one objective leads to progression to the next.
Ukraine’s initial objectives in Kursk were:
- Force Russia to move its troops from the older frontline. Reduce the density of Russian forces inside Ukraine.
- Push Russia to relocate its troops from Donbas, particularly the Pokrovsk sector.
- Increase Russian casualties and destroy weapons at a higher rate.
- Undermine Putin’s strongman image within Russia.
As of September 15, 2024, Ukraine has achieved all of these objectives. Forty-five days after Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk Oblast, a Russian territory bordering Ukraine to the north, Russian forces have withdrawn some troops from Pokrovsk and redeployed them to Kursk.
While I don’t believe Russia has entirely abandoned its ambition to control Ukraine’s mineral-rich Donbas region, its strategy has shifted over the past two weeks for two key reasons: the advance toward Pokrovsk has been stalled for nearly two weeks, and while they are unable to make progress, they continue to suffer heavy losses in the sector.
