‘Putin Made Inadequate Decision’

Why was the FSB put in charge of the defense of the Kursk region?

Forbes sources reported that Ukrainian troops began digging trenches at positions in the Kursk region.

What could this say about the goals of the Ukrainian Defense Forces? Charter97.org spoke about this with military expert, co-director of foreign policy and international security programs at the Razumkov Center in Kyiv, Oleksiy Melnyk:

— Any infantryman will tell you that the first commandment is: if you want to live, then stop and immediately dig a trench for shooting from a prone position, and half an hour later — from a kneeling position. The fact that the infantry is digging trenches does not mean at all that the front line will be fixed in this place and trench positional warfare will begin, as is happening in some areas of the combat line on the territory of Ukraine. These are the basic principles of the infantry.

It is clear that Ukraine has absolutely no intention of annexing this territory of the Russian Federation. Or to fix some front line. Since turning this front line into another hot spot is definitely not in the interests of Ukraine.

— In your opinion, how can events develop further in the Kursk region?

— What will happen next depends on many factors. It is worth considering that 99% of the information about what is happening there comes from Russian sources: official publications, war correspondents, local residents.

There are no specifics from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Or there are just a few hints that it is us, Ukrainians, in the words of Volodymyr Zelensky. And literally single shots of participants, but they are coming with a delay of several days.

I mean that assessing the situation now, making forecasts, is risky, because we are operating with facts from two or three days ago with the dynamics of the development of events that are happening there.

As of today, we do not know the plans of the Ukrainian command, what forces are involved and what reserves can be sent there.

— How do you assess the actions of the Russian leadership?

— I'll start with Putin. His rhetoric is unconvincing to the Russian public. His facial expressions only confirm that he is confused.

The official decision — the introduction of a counter-terrorist operation regime — is a clear example of inadequate decisions and the use of a tool that does not correspond to the problem.

The CTO regime provides for the expansion of the powers of the security forces (primarily internal security, the police), as well as the restriction of citizens' rights. The CTO is led by the FSB, represented by Bortnikov. The armed forces perform an auxiliary function. It turns out that aviation, bombers, operational-tactical missiles, regular units, tanks — they are all auxiliary. In theory, an FSB officer is in charge of all this.

Bortnikov will not be held responsible for this, but he will give everyone instructions and tell them where and how to fight.

So far this is good for Ukraine, but for the Russian Federation this means additional problems. The approach that Russia is using allows the Ukrainian Armed Forces to achieve success.

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