The News
As Russian forces advance deeper into eastern Ukraine, a rising chorus of criticism is saying that Kyiv’s assault into Russia has weakened Ukraine’s defenses.
In recent days Russian troops have made significant advances towards Pokrovosk, a key Ukrainian logistics hub in the Donetsk region, prompting evacuations. Journalists, politicians, and soldiers have complained that front-line defenses have been undermanned as Ukrainian troops were redeployed to Russia’s Kursk region, the Financial Times reported.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a press conference earlier this week that the situation was “extremely difficult,” although he argued that Russia’s progress had slowed down after Ukraine’s Kursk offensive.
SIGNALS
Ukraine’s Kursk gamble fails to pay off so far
Ukraine’s assault into Russia was aimed at forcing Moscow to move troops out of Ukraine to defend their own territory. But so far, Russians are not “taking the bait,” one Ukrainian soldier in eastern Ukraine told The Economist. Instead, it is Ukraine that is now struggling to defend its front lines after many of its most experienced troops were sent to participate in the Russian assault. Mariana Bezuhla, a Ukrainian MP who has been critical of Kyiv’s military leadership, wrote on Telegram that Russian troops had passed freely through empty fortifications in Donetsk, while the remaining troops in the region face a severe shortage of ammunition.
Zelenskyy to present ‘victory plan’ to the White House
Zelenskyy has said the incursion into Russia is part of a “victory plan” that he will brief US President Joe Biden on in September. Its success will depend on whether Washington will offer Ukraine “what is in this plan or not, [and] whether we will be free to use this plan,” Zelenskyy said on Tuesday. While the details of this proposal are unclear, Ukrainian officials have launched a concerted effort to convince Western allies to loosen restrictions on long-range strikes into Russia. Ukraine’s foreign minister lobbied his counterparts at a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels this week, and top officials are in Washington to make a plea to the Biden administration to allow Kyiv to strike deep in Russia, Politico reported.
Ukraine develops new weapon to strike deeper into Russia
Ukraine has also been hard at work developing long-range weapons that it can use to strike further into Russia without requiring permission from allies. Last week, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has developed “a completely new class” of weapon that it has already used to hit Russian military installations, and which Ukrainian officials have said will allow Kyiv to strike deeper behind Russian lines. There are more than 200 militarily significant Russian facilities that are within reach of US-provided weapons, but that the Biden administration has so far not allowed Ukraine to target, according to analysis by the Institute for the Study of War.