Former SSU Head: Putin Underestimated Scale Of Ukrainian Offensive Operation In Kursk Region

The master of the Kremlin miscalculated.

Putin gave the order not to withdraw troops from the Pokrovsk direction in the Donetsk region, because he hopes that the Russian occupation army will achieve success there. At the same time, he decided that Kursk would wait. And he miscalculated.

General of the Ukrainian army, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (2005-2010) Mykola Malomuzh shared this opinion on the air of the FREEDOM TV channel.

— He [Putin] believes that they will be able to localize the situation somewhere on the approaches to the Kurchatov (Kursk — edit.) NPP, 40-50 km from Kursk... And he is gradually withdrawing troops from various points: from the depths of Russia, and those that should go as reserves to the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya directions, from the Kharkiv direction, from the Kherson sector... He is trying to create something to counter this in this way. But it is not working.

He underestimated the situation. He underestimated not only the scale of the operation, the fact that we are creating a buffer zone from Russian aggression in this sector, but also the fact that he is undermining his own prestige... Putin's rating has fallen by at least 3.5-4%, and according to some data, by 8%. This is after Putin failed to do anything, when our troops entered the territory of the Kursk region. He was unable to show that he would defend Russia, as he said, every inch. We have advanced 35-40 kilometers, and in width it is about that, we are blocking highways, blowing up bridges. A large-scale military operation is underway. Putin is losing here so far in military terms, in military-political terms and, accordingly, in image terms, — the expert believes.

At the same time, the Defense Forces of Ukraine, despite the difficult situation in the Pokrovsk direction, continue to protect it from enemy breakthroughs, inflicting significant losses on the enemy, Malomuzh emphasized.

— I think that this priority of ours is gradually leading to the exhaustion of the enemy's reserves in this sector, and there will no longer be large reserves, because we need Kursk, and we are counterattacking, for example, in the Vovchansk direction, this is the Kharkiv sector, we are partially counterattacking in the Zaporizhzhya direction. And reserves are needed all around. And the Russian Federation will not be able to provide large additional reserves in the near future, — he believes.

The general emphasized: Russia does not have inexhaustible resources — this is a big myth. The Kursk operation has strategic consequences. We have dispelled the myth that Russia's borders are impregnable and impossible to somehow clear out, take control of. This is a complete failure of Putin's strategy, personal promises, their armed forces, and the special services that should have foreseen all of this. They miscalculated strategically, we outplayed them... The second component, of course, is undermining the very model of the warfare system.

While in some places where they are still concentrating troops, like the Pokrovsk direction, in others they do not have basic defense systems. This is not only Kursk, we remember how the fronts entered the territory of the Bryansk and Belgorod regions and conducted raids there for weeks...

Lukashenka has already begun to maneuver first one way and then the other... Iran has slowed down. North Korea is already thinking about it, according to our information. And the “neutrals” — India, China, Brazil, Turkey — have already looked and are saying that the principles of international law must be observed. What is this? This is the recreation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, — says the former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine. He added: it is important that the Ukrainian Defense Forces do not stop at Kursk.

— The new strategy assumes not only holding the position in the Kursk direction as long as we can, strengthening them, but also preparing other attacks... Where there are no fortified areas, where there are no prepared positions, where the enemy does not expect... Now we can break the stereotype of war that Putin imposed on us, and act outside the box. As a rule, when there are fewer forces and resources, then the army acts very effectively, uses special art and a special strategy. And we are moving towards this, — believes Mykola Malomuzh.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com