A Ukrainian military expert says the country has deployed some of its most-skilled troops for its cross-border incursion into western Russia.
Oleksandr Musiienko said in an interview with NHK that Ukraine’s brigades, units and soldiers taking part in the operation “have experience” and “know what’s going to happen on the battlefield.”
Ukraine claims to have taken control of 1,150 square kilometers of Russian territory since it launched its attack on the Kursk region on August 6.
Musiienko said the Ukrainian forces’ strategy includes using their own drones as well as neutralizing those deployed by Russia with jamming waves.
Ukraine had attacked air bases and other facilities in the Russian territory before it launched the cross-border attack. Musiienko said this served as a preparation for the incursion.
The expert said the cross-border operation has shown the world that Ukrainian forces are not only successful at defensive operations in their own eastern territory but also capable of staging counter-offensives.
He added that Kyiv had effectively “destroyed a red line,” under which the United States and European countries had been preventing Ukrainian forces from going into Russian territory and using Western-produced missiles to attack targets inside Russia.
Looking to future, Musiienko said he believes the Ukrainian forces will remain in Kursk to achieve Ukraine’s main goal of forcing Russian troops out of the country.