Military or political expediency: expert Lakiichuk on the objectives of the Kursk operation
The Kursk operation was conceived and implemented with military objectives, says Pavlo Lakiichuk, head of security programs at the Center for Global Studies "Strategy XXI" and a retired Ukrainian Navy captain of the first rank.
"I am convinced that the Kursk operation was conceived and implemented with military objectives. Our command, including experts, stated that the primary task is to tie down the enemy's reserves and divert them from the main attack directions. This task has been accomplished and continues to be carried out. Russian military bloggers, discussing yesterday's offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, claimed that it was some kind of Ukrainian provocation, a distraction tactic. Here, military expediency outweighs political considerations", - he told OstroV.
According to him, from a military perspective, the operation makes sense as long as the benefits outweigh the costs of its execution. If this balance changes, it would be reasonable to retreat to avoid losing what has already been achieved.
At the same time, Pavlo Lakiichuk noted that the political expediency, which everyone is talking about, arose during the Kursk operation.
"Our political leadership believes that this piece of the Kursk oblast could play a role in potential negotiations with moscow. But I doubt such negotiations will even take place. I do not believe that putin is ready for any compromises", - the military expert emphasized.
It was previously reported that the Ukrainian forces launched a new offensive in the russian Kursk oblast on January 5.