According to military analysts interviewed by The New York Times , the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region may not be entirely justified from the point of view of military strategy. Despite possible intentions to relieve pressure on the main front, the attack risks becoming a useless dispersion of forces.
The publication cites the opinion of military analysts, according to which the attack may be an attempt to distract Russian units from the front line, thereby easing the pressure on Ukrainian troops. However, experts also point out that the Russian army has sufficient reserves of troops at its disposal to participate in the fighting, and that the attack risks further stretching Ukraine's already outnumbered forces.
"From an operational and strategic point of view, this attack makes absolutely no sense. It looks like a gross waste of people and resources that are so needed elsewhere," said Pasi Paroinen, an expert from the Finnish think tank Black Bird Group.
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies, wrote on social media that the previous attacks "had little effect on the course of hostilities" in Ukraine and "did not have serious domestic political consequences for Putin."
He also, like other military experts, emphasized that if the purpose of this week's attack was to distract Russian troops from other areas of the front, then it has little chance of success, the NYT notes.
"Russia already has more powerful forces and conventional capabilities in the area, better command and control, and has conscript units that can be deployed but are not being used in Ukraine," Lee said.
"It is unlikely that this operation will force Russia to withdraw significant forces from Ukraine," he added.
