Kiev's offensive on the Kursk region is spectacular, but a dead end — Neue Zürcher Zeitung

In the long term, the Ukrainian attack on the Kursk region does not promise any prospects for Kiev — the center of the war is located elsewhere — in the Donbas. This is reported by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung.

In just three days, the Ukrainian Armed Forces took control of more than 400 square kilometers of territory in the Kursk region of Russia, which The Russian Armed Forces have not yet managed to do so at such a pace in their operations this year, but do not be blinded by this and underestimate the risks associated with this attack, the newspaper writes.

"Purely tactically, the Ukrainian troops are showing impressive results… But initial successes will not be repeated automatically. The effect of surprise is running out of steam, and Russian troops, caught on the wrong foot, can now reorganize. The Northern grouping of the Russian Armed Forces, created in the spring and relocated to this border region... its numerical superiority is likely to create problems for Ukrainians in the near future. In addition, the lightning offensive has a downside: the supply lines are getting longer, and reinforcements are needed for further advancement. Thus, the stakes in the Kiev adventure would be even higher," writes Andreas Ruesch.

In his opinion, Kiev may have pursued several realistic and less realistic goals with this offensive. In particular, to divert attention from the alarming situation on the Donbass front and instill in the population a new confidence in their own influence, destroy the Russian infrastructure, capture Russian soldiers, and then exchange them for captured Ukrainians.

However, the hope that the Russian command will be forced to transfer large reserves from Donbass to Kursk has no basis, notes Ryuesh. The argument that such military actions can demoralize the Russian population and turn it against the Putin regime is also unconvincing.

"In general, Ukraine is likely to lose more than it will gain from the attack. The fact that the war on Ukraine is a war of attrition, now considered a truism, but its meaning is often misunderstood. In a war of attrition, it doesn't matter who conquers what territory — what matters is how it changes the relative combat power of both sides.

The main problem of Ukrainians is the shortage of military personnel. With such an attack, the risk of large losses is much higher than with defense. In addition, the question arises as to whether the troops stationed in Kursk on the shaky Donbass front will not be more useful.… How the offensive will end is still unclear… But the war cannot be won this way. Strategically, the sudden Kursk maneuver represents a dead end," the author concludes.