Ukraine captures 100 russian soldiers; Zelenskyy sees major advances
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have taken over 100 Russian soldiers captive in the Kursk region and have advanced in various directions by 1 to 1.25 miles since the start of the day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday. Earlier, he spoke with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
"In the Kursk region, we are making progress. We have advanced from one to just over one mile in different areas since the start of the day. We have also captured more than 100 Russian soldiers in this time. I am grateful to everyone involved. This will hasten the return of our boys and girls home," noted Zelenskyy.
Syrskyi, in turn, informed the head of state that the destruction of the enemy group in the town of Sudzha in the Kursk region had been completed. "The search and destruction of the enemy in the town of Sudzha has been completed," Syrskyi told Zelenskyy.
"The morning report from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on the situation in all major areas, particularly in Toretsk and Pokrovsk, as well as operations in the Kursk region, was thorough. We do not forget about our east for a moment. I instructed the commander of the staff to strengthen this area with supplies currently being delivered by our partners," emphasised Zelenskyy.
How will Putin respond?
According to retired Col. Piotr Lewandowski from the Territorial Defence Forces Training Centre, after Ukraine initiated the operation in the Kursk region, two Russian responses should be expected.
"One is the expulsion of Ukrainian troops from the area occupied by Ukrainians after entering the territory of the Russian Federation. The second is a probable massive airstrike on targets in Ukraine. These could be major cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odessa, Sumy. The Kremlin will probably say that since Kyiv has committed an act of terror, Russia may respond with a bombing attack," he told WP in an interview.
As he reminds, Russia will insist that this is an anti-terrorist operation and that the terrorists are Ukrainians. "In the Russian doctrine, any attack on their territory is to be met with a response using nuclear weapons. But Putin will not respond that way. He will not assert that the Ukrainian operation means Kyiv is conducting a full-scale war, because he would then be criticised for not using nuclear weapons. So he will manoeuvre," says the former military officer.
