Dorsel Boyer and ISC Robert K. Becker
After 18 days of fighting, Ukrainian forces had occupied 490 square miles of Russian territory and continued to gain ground each day.i
The proliferation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in the Ukraine-Russia war has created a transparent battlefield marked by near-persistent surveillance, making operational surprise difficult to achieve. Several factors contribute to battlefield transparency in Ukraine, including the proliferation of small commercial UAS, which create near-persistent surveillance, preventing Ukraine and Russia from gathering sufficient mass to conduct combined arms maneuvers. Without the ability to maneuver, conditions along the front have devolved into grinding positional fighting. Russian forces have relied on small groups of assault infantry to wear down Ukrainian defenders in static attritional warfare. These prevailing conditions caused many observers to believe that opportunities to achieve operational surprise and resume maneuver warfare are limited in contemporary conflict.
Factors Driving the Ukrainian Offensive in Kursk
Ukraine launched the offensive with several political and military objectives in mind. The primary political objective was to increase Kyiv’s diplomatic position in future negotiations. The attack also allowed Ukraine to capture Russian soldiers to facilitate prisoner-of-war exchanges. Operationally, Ukrainian commanders sought to enable deep targeting of Russian airfields that launch glide bombs into Ukraine and hoped to force Russian commanders to move forces from the ongoing fight near Pokrovsk to reinforce in Kursk. Ukraine also sought to challenge Russia’s logistics networks supporting ongoing operations in the Kharkiv oblast.
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