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16 August 2024

The Guns of August: Ukraine Blasts a Path Into Russia

Doug Livermore

In early August, Ukraine did something predicted by no one — it ordered significant numbers of troops into Russia. That was enough to have Vladimir Putin and his aides meeting in a crisis session and his generals scrambling to find units to fight on the new front.

What does it signal? Is it a brilliant counterstroke, offering relief to Ukrainian forces forced into a series of retreats in Donbas, or a risky gamble using well-equipped units for little more than public relations bragging rights?

Here’s what can be said with certainty: Ukrainian offensive operations in Kursk Oblast demonstrate a capacity to conduct large-scale, combined arms operations on Russian territory. With great speed, surprise, and violence of action, Ukraine’s ongoing assault has now reportedly created a pocket measuring some 40 miles wide by up to 20 miles deep. Around 100,000 Russian civilians have been evacuated.

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