Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak announced in a national television broadcast that the surprise incursion was launched to strengthen Kyiv’s position in future negotiations with Russia.
According to the presidential adviser, Russian losses of territory, men, and equipment will have a positive impact on Kyiv’s possible future negotiations with Russia.
Ukraine has struck Russian territory for the first time since the war began in February 2022, security policy expert György Nógrádi told Magyar Nemzet.
“Ukraine had already promised a successful attack before last year’s NATO summit, which would have been a precondition for receiving serious support from NATO,” he added.
Ukraine yesterday resumed the offensive it had begun the day before in Russia’s Kursk region, attacking with drones and missiles after a daytime assault by ground forces, and then pushed northwest of the border town of Sudzha, 530 kilometers southwest of Moscow, the Russian defense ministry said.
The Russian side was taken by surprise by the attack, the expert said, and the U.S. State Department said they were not aware of it.
According to György Nógrádi, this also shows that anything can happen on the 1,300-kilometer front, which is continuously widening and which Russian forces are not prepared to defend.
Podolyak said Ukraine’s advance on Russian territory would also “scare” the Russians, which could impact their attitude towards the Russian president.
Nógrádi said that one of Kyiv’s aims could be to draw Russian troops away from the frontline and thus slow down the Russian advance in the Donbas.
On Putin’s international and domestic acceptability, he also pointed out that the Russian president was recently invited to the presidential inauguration in Mexico, and Ukraine’s position in Africa is weakening significantly; more and more African states are expelling Ukrainian diplomats who interfere in their internal affairs, with Mali and Niger recently taking similar steps, he said.
“It is obvious that the response to the Ukrainian strike will be a Russian counter-strike, which is likely to target Kyiv and major Ukrainian cities,” the expert concluded.
