Russian Colonel-General Oleksandr Lapin, who oversaw security in the Kursk region, dissolved the council tasked with protecting the vulnerable border region a few months before the offensive of the Armed Forces.
Points of attention
- Russian General Lapin weakened the defense of Kurshchyna, disbanding the council dealing with the defense of the vulnerable border region, a few months before the offensive of the Armed Forces.
- The lack of human resources and systemic errors of the top management led to the creation of vulnerabilities in the defense of the Russian border, which caused a failure at the beginning of the Ukrainian offensive.
- Ukrainian forces disabled Russian communications through electronic jamming, which occurred due to failed defense planning and mistakes.
- Under the leadership of General Lapin, deficiencies in planning and lack of personnel led to a failure in the defense, as happened in Kharkiv Oblast in September 2022.
Why Russian General Lapin weakened the defense of Kurshchyna
As the publication notes, in the spring of this year, the new military leader of Moscow, Colonel-General Oleksandr Lapin, said that the army itself has sufficient forces and resources to protect the Russian border, as reported by a representative of the Russian special services.
This approach has created a new vulnerability in Russia's already weak border defenses, which failed earlier this month when Ukrainian forces launched a rapid offensive into Kursk Oblast. They crossed the border, taking Russian troops by surprise, WSJ notes.
The publication notes that Lapin was not the only one who allowed this first invasion of Russian territory since World War II. The reasons were a critical lack of human resources and systemic errors of the top management, which is often detached from the realities of hostilities.
The WSJ emphasizes that it is not known whether the interagency council dissolved by Lapin would have helped coordinate the response to the Ukrainian offensive. However, without such a body, Russia's actions were chaotic and ineffective.
After the start of the Ukrainian operation, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, General Valery Gerasimov, said that Lapin's troops, together with the border guards, were destroying the enemy near the border, but since then Gerasimov has not appeared in public.
The WSJ points out that this situation is reminiscent of the initial reaction to the Wagner PMC uprising under Yevgeny Prigozhin, when the Kremlin was caught off guard by its actions despite warnings.
Lapin was aware that Ukrainian troops were building up forces near the border, and he informed Moscow about it, but the authorities did not react, perceiving it as psychological pressure.
When Ukrainian troops crossed the neutral zone, they met no resistance, and there were no territorial defense forces inside Russia that could delay their advance. Thanks to radio-electronic jamming, Ukrainian troops disabled Russian means of communication, forcing the enemy to retreat.
Defense planning was as unsuccessful as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Initially, Russian military planners, relying on faulty intelligence, sent armored vehicles to Ukraine, where they became easy targets for drones and anti-tank weapons.
When the Ukrainian troops entered the Kursk region, they were confronted by the 488th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division, composed mainly of conscripts who, according to Russian policy, were not supposed to participate in battles.
This is not the first time that under Lapin's leadership, poor planning and understaffing have led to failures. So, in September 2022, he led Russian troops in the Kharkiv region, where the Ukrainians quickly broke through the defenses and liberated a large part of the region.
What is known about the advance of the Armed Forces in Kurshchyna
According to Russian bloggers, the Ukrainian military is advancing north of Suja in the area of Mala Lokna and surrounding Russian forces in Martynivka, which is northeast of Suja and 19 km from the international border.
Russian "militants" claim that units of the Russian 810th separate brigade of marines (Black Sea Fleet) were encircled in Martynivka.
Geolocation footage published on August 21 indicates that the Armed Forces have advanced to the southern part of Ruska Konopelka (east of Suzhi and 12 km from the international border).
It seems that the Russian 810th brigade is particularly sporadically deployed throughout the Kursk region.
