By Smartencyclopedia with Agencies

The Ukrainian army has managed to retain control over more than 1,000 square kilometers of land in Russia’s Kursk region, almost a month into a daring cross-border incursion. This operation provided a significant morale boost for Kyiv’s forces while delivering a humiliating blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, in eastern Ukraine, the Russian army has made territorial gains, pushing closer to the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk province, a critical supply hub for Ukraine’s frontline troops.

According to UK military intelligence, Russian forces are now just 10 kilometers from Pokrovsk, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitting that the situation on the ground remains “difficult.” Zelensky noted that Russia’s goals have not changed, as the assault on Pokrovsk predates Ukraine’s Kursk offensive.

Kursk Offensive and Russian Gains

Military experts suggest that Ukraine’s offensive in Kursk aimed to force a redeployment of Russian troops engaged in the Donbas region. However, this strategy has seemingly failed. While some Russian forces were moved from the front line, those redeployments did not impact the battle for Pokrovsk.

“Russian operations are now solely concentrated in the Pokrovsk region,” noted Gustav Gressel, a Ukraine war analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Before the Kursk incursion, Russian forces were advancing on seven fronts in Donbas, but now their focus is on Pokrovsk, said Huseyn Aliyev, a war expert at the University of Glasgow.

Strategic Importance of Pokrovsk

Pokrovsk, a transport hub with a pre-war population of 50,000, holds strategic importance due to its convergence of roads and rail lines. If it falls, Russia could gain a direct route to the larger cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. “A Russian breakthrough in Pokrovsk could force a broader Ukrainian retreat in Donetsk,” warned Will Kingston-Cox, a Russia expert at ITSS Verona.

Some analysts argue that Ukraine’s focus on the Kursk offensive might have been “strategically misguided.” Gressel noted that the incursion drew Kyiv’s “most mobile reserves” away from the Donbas, where they might have been better suited to defensive operations.

Kursk as a Bargaining Chip?

Despite the challenges in Donbas, some experts argue that Ukraine’s control over Russian territory in Kursk could serve as a bargaining chip in future negotiations. Sim Tack, a military analyst, suggests that holding Russian land could pressure Moscow into talks, although the true value of this remains unclear.

Zelensky reiterated that the Kursk operation is part of Ukraine’s broader “victory plan” to end the war on favorable terms. However, Putin has downplayed the significance of Ukraine’s first incursion into Russian territory since World War II, focusing instead on his territorial objectives in Donetsk.

With Moscow’s forces continuing to press their assault on the Donbas region, the balance of power in Ukraine’s eastern front may yet shift as the war grinds on.