A member of a Ukrainian military brigade says the country used intelligence data provided by Western partners to monitor Russia’s moves before launching its cross-border attack.
The soldier spoke to NHK about the details of the cross-border offensive in Russia’s Kursk region. He handles public relations for the brigade that operates near the border with Russia.
He said officers and soldiers at the local command who were not involved in the planning did not know anything about the operation and did not even guess it would take place.
He said Ukrainian forces secretly carried out a thorough reconnaissance of the Kursk region with the help of unmanned aircraft and satellites.
He said Western partners provided them with detailed intelligence data from their satellites. He said the operation would have been impossible without that information.
The soldier also said all movements were made in small groups, sometimes in separate cars and that offensive units began to roll over at the last moment. He said it was very fast.
The soldier said that before the start of the operation, Ukrainian forces had been redeployed in the Sumy region that borders Kursk, pretending that they feared the enemy was going to open another front there.
He said Russia believed this misinformation.
The soldier also explained the objectives of the cross-border attack.
He said the moral and psychological factor of Russia’s civilian population should not be forgotten. He said the offensive on Kursk was planned both tactically and as a move to demoralize the enemy.