Russian authorities decided to ignore presence of AFU in Kursk region - Estonian intelligence
The regime of the Russian Federation has apparently decided to ignore the scale of the problem that the Ukrainian armed forces are creating for them by invading the Kursk region.
According to Censor.NET, with reference to ERR, this was stated by Lieutenant Colonel Janek Kesselmann, Deputy Commander of the Estonian Defense Ministry's Intelligence Center.
"At the moment, the strategic initiative is still in Ukraine's hands thanks to an unprecedentedly successful operation in the Kursk region. As far as we know, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are currently controlling approximately 900-1300 square kilometers of Kursk region," he emphasized.
Kesselmann added that the destruction of the bridges across the Seim River puts the Russian army in a dilemma: either the units that are potentially isolated will withdraw, and thus the territory will come under Ukrainian control, or use resources to restore the connecting route.
"Both dilemmas are difficult to resolve, and neither solution is likely to be easily feasible for the Russian Federation," Kesselmann said.
He emphasized that Russian troops are creating a line of defense on the Rylsk-Lgov-Kursk line.
"Apparently, it makes no sense for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to move in this direction, as the strategic dilemma Russia is facing now has already been created. The dilemma is as follows: either to stop the offensive in the direction of the Donetsk region or to recognize Ukraine's presence in the Kursk region," Kesselman said.
But "it seems that the regime of the Russian Federation has decided to ignore the scale of the problem that the Ukrainian armed forces are creating for them in the Kursk region."
According to Kesselmann, the Ukrainian Armed Forces forced Russia to use conscripts in the conflict.
"Although Russia has been claiming since the beginning of the war that this would not happen," he said.
"To summarize, we can say that Russia failed to respond adequately to Ukraine's actions in the Kursk region. Russia continues to put pressure on Ukrainian units in the Donetsk sector, where intense fighting continues. But it is not clear that Russia has come closer to the strategic goals it stated at the beginning of the war," Kesselmann summarized.
