Russia has continued to make rapid advances in eastern Ukraine toward the key city of Pokrovsk, sparking public criticism of the Ukrainian military leadership and raising questions about Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s decision to launch a bold incursion into the Russian Kursk region.
For months, Russian forces have been attempting to seize Pokrovsk, a strategically important mining town with a prewar population of about 60,000, but their advance has gained considerable momentum in recent weeks.
Deep State, a Ukrainian group close to Ukraine’s defence ministry that tracks frontline activities, reported that Russian forces on Friday were less than 10km (6 miles) from the outskirts of Pokrovsk, where local officials have ordered a mass evacuation.
Defenders have advantage yes but there’s basically noone defending Kursk. With Ukraine focussing on Kursk, Russia may even win as much territory in Ukraine as it’s losing of its own.
Yet that’s still bound to be a political win for Ukraine as every square metre of Kursk is worth a lot more in terms of negotiating position than a piece of the Donbas. And as we all know war is the continuation of politics with different means, that is, politics is all that it’s about. Winning or losing a war is not decided by square metre of occupied territory, or kill count, or whatnot, but about making it politically advantageous for the enemy to withdraw.