From: New Voice of Ukraine 🇺🇦
The Ukrainian military operation in Russia’s Kursk Oblast has not yet altered the strategic thinking of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, according to a report by the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) summarizing the events on Sept. 3.
“While the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast appears to be having operational-level impacts on the Russian military, the incursion has likely not yet shifted Putin’s strategic-level thinking,” the analysts said.
ISW adds that Putin still believes that Russia can gradually “subsume” Ukraine through slow advances and a war of attrition, outlasting the partners supporting Ukraine. Therefore, the dictator is unwilling to engage in any peace negotiations except on terms that involve the “Ukrainian and Western capitulation to his demands.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously told NBC News that Ukraine would hold onto captured Russian territories until it forces Putin to the negotiating table.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces controlled 100 settlements in Kursk Oblast, covering an area of 1,294 square kilometers as of Aug. 27.
Zelenskyy maintained on Sept. 2 that the operation in Kursk Oblast was proceeding according to plan and achieving its objectives as Ukrainian defenders have captured over 600 Russian soldiers for prisoner exchanges
Voice of Ukraine 