The ill-fated offensive only resulted in a Russian advance, former chief of the armed forces and current ambassador to the UK, Valery Zaluzhny, has claimed<\/p>\n
The Ukrainian incursion into Russia\u2019s Kursk Region ordered by Vladimir Zelensky came with \u201ctoo high\u201d a cost and did not deliver any operational results, former top Ukrainian General, and current Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, Valery Zaluzhny, claimed in an article published on Tuesday.
\nThe August 2024 operation involved an initial force of some 35,000 troops who invaded Russia\u2019s Kursk Region, taking dozens of villages and killing local residents in a move Zelensky claimed would provide leverage for future peace talks.
\nIn April President Vladimir Putin declared the Kursk Region \u201cfully liberated\u201d and Chief of Russia\u2019s General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported that Ukraine had lost more than 76,000 troops killed and wounded in the operation, along with over 7,700 pieces of military equipment.
\nReflecting on the Kursk incursion in the Ukrainian outlet Zerkalo Nedeli, Zaluzhny, widely touted as a rival to Vladimir Zelensky in any future presidential election, claimed that such operations could only be justified if human losses were acceptable and objectives limited.
\n\u201cAn isolated tactical breakthrough on a narrow sector of the front does not bring the necessary success to the attacking side,\u201d he wrote, noting that Russia not only stopped Kiev\u2019s attack and also managed to launch its own tactical advance.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Zelensky facing internal dissent \u2013 Politico<\/p>\n
Zelensky reportedly ignored the advice of his own staff, including his top general, Zaluzhny, and the commander of Ukraine\u2019s 80th Air Assault Brigade, who like his commander, was dismissed from his post amid reported protests from high ranking military officers.
\n\u201cThe cost of such actions is unknown to me, but it was clearly too high,\u201d Zaluzhny wrote.
\nRussia continues to wear down Ukrainian troops with infiltration tactics and constant assaults, he acknowledged, while Kiev lacks the manpower to halt the advance.
\nMoscow has insisted that its victory is inevitable and has criticized continued Western military aid to Ukraine, arguing that it only prolongs hostilities without affecting their outcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The ill-fated offensive only resulted in a Russian advance, former chief of the armed forces and current ambassador to the UK, Valery Zaluzhny, has claimed The Ukrainian incursion into Russia\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18931,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t