How public criticism of the Ukrainian Armed Forces command jeopardized the implementation of of one of the most successful offensive operations during the war with Russia
Nowadays, there are few social media users who do not post some kind of meme related to Suzha or the operation in the Kursk region in general. Ukrainian society is tired of tension and small defeats. The failure of the 2023 counteroffensive and accusations against the military and political leadership led to the perception that any information about the commanders or plans of the Armed Forces was perceived as something that needed to be spread immediately.
And now we see a brilliantly planned operation in the Kursk region.
What are its main features?
- covert preparation. It seems that a very limited number of people knew about the operation. And they remained silent despite all the public attacks and accusations.
- adequate selection of the goal(s).
- similarities with the Kharkiv operation – the same rapid attack with minimal losses, a large number of prisoners and trophies.
- паніка у ворога внаслідок розгубленості.
One can only imagine how serious the planning was that the formation of the striking fist, and the accumulation of forces and means took place without the enemy leaking information and understanding the true purpose.
Since the state does not publicly comment on all these details, it is also not worthwhile to find out the details of the planning of the ongoing operation. However, it is worth emphasizing an important point right now: Only the high command knows all the plans and intentions of the Ukrainian army. And no matter how experienced you are as an expert or even as a military man, without knowing the whole picture , you can cause irreparable damage to Ukraine.
The operation in the Kursk region had been planned for several months. Probably as soon as American aid was unblocked. Now imagine if the public attacks on the Chief of the Armed Forces , Oleksandr Syrskyi , and others had been successful? What if the government had listened to Facebook experts and changed the leadership of the Ukrainian Defense Forces to meet the demands of individual bloggers?
Would the Kursk operationhave been realized?
No matter how the operation develops further, as of today, according to my data, Russia has lost control of 800 square kilometers ofthe “old” territory, Probably up to a thousand prisoners have been captured, including about a hundred Kadyrovites and many FSB officers. The people of Russia have begun to really feel what war is, and it is not just UAV strikes – it is a full-fledged war.
I do not know the ultimate goal of the operation. But in my opinion, the conclusion is obvious: Ukraine has proven its ability to fight successfully in unfavorable conditions. Imagine for a second that those units that were preparing for a counteroffensive in 2023 would have gone to Kursk? And one more thing: for some reason , it seems to me that russia has a zugzwang, becausethe “fog of war” around the operation allows us to adjust not only operational actions, but also prevents us, as in 2023,from “failing to fulfill our tasks”. This is a moral and motivational advantage.
Another achievement that we will definitely not lose is prisoners of war. They are already changing the attitude towards Ukrainians in captivity, and they obviously havea “higher exchange rate”. And yet, we can get out of there and enter elsewhere.
And I don’t understand those who can ‘t stop with their”expertise” and assessments.
Yuriy Goncharenko, specially for InfoLight.UA.
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