The Washington Post draws attention to the fact that it was the Kursk operation and the taking control of part of Russian territory that became Ukraine's main trump card on the eve of potential peace negotiations to end the war.
Points of attention
- Ukraine can use the successful Kursk operation to strengthen its position in peace negotiations.
- Putin is desperately trying to remove this “trump card” from Ukraine, but to no avail.
Putin cannot take away Ukraine's main trump card
Journalists believe that the intensification of the Russian offensive in the Kursk region indicates that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is in despair.
He wants to remove this "trump card" from the negotiating table as soon as possible, amid pressure over possible talks to end the war before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
What is important to understand is that the aggressor country has sent 60,000 soldiers to the region and is attacking Ukrainian positions with all the means at its disposal.
In addition, it is noted that the Russian invaders are moving on motorcycles, carts, bicycles, and on foot to limit their losses on roads controlled by Ukrainian firepower.
Moreover, waves of North Korean soldiers have recently appeared on the battlefield in the Kursk region, which Ukrainian soldiers are destroying quite quickly.
Ukraine has reached a turning point
What is important to understand is that in August, the Russian dictator tried to downplay the significance of the Kursk operation.
Putin even called it a useless secondary action compared to the main fighting in eastern Ukraine.
But nearly five months later, as fighting intensified, the battle for this corner of western Russia proved that Ukraine's incursion across the border was a turning point in the war, even if the ultimate outcome remains unclear, The Washington Post writes.
According to the commander of the 82nd Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Dmitry Voloshyn, at first he was skeptical about the Kursk operation in general, but since then the importance of this battle has become "undeniable."
Supporters of the operation believe that the attack was the only option for Ukraine, as Russia could have invaded the Sumy region.
