22 August 2024, Thursday, 19:32 1303

US fearing that Kursk operation will stretch AFU – NBC News

Editor: Tetiana Herasimova

Читати українською

Share:
Copied

If Ukraine continues its offensive in the Kursk Oblast of the aggressor country of russia, it may stretch the forces needed for defense within the state and repelling russian attacks along the entire front line.

It was reported by NBC News on Thursday, August 22, citing three American officials.

Ukraine's sudden and decisive offensive in the Kursk Oblast caught russian dictator vladimir putin by surprise and shocked NATO countries, but if continued, it could stretch the Armed Forces of Ukraine too far. Russia has withdrawn a small portion of its troops from Ukraine to bolster its defenses, according to three U.S. officials. It is not clear yet whether the russian federation will reduce its presence along the front line near Kharkiv or elsewhere. So far, russia has not mobilized enough forces to return the territory captured by Ukraine, the publication writes.

“There is a risk that Ukraine’s supply lines could be overextended as it tries to sustain troops fighting inside Russia as well as fend off Russian assaults across eastern Ukraine. It’s a concern,” said one U.S. official.

According to U.S. officials, the exact goals of the AFU offensive in the Kursk Oblast remain unclear, including whether Kyiv intends to hold on to captured territory indefinitely to use as a bargaining chip in potential peace negotiations, or pull back into Ukraine, the report said.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on August 22, Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the NSDC, said that part of the russian troops in the Kursk Oblast was practically in a cauldron.

On August 22, the commander of the Lithuanian Army, Raimundas Vaikšnoras, said that thanks to the successful offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk Oblast, a noticeable reduction in russian ground forces has been observed in Kaliningrad.

Recall that earlier the Air Force showed a video of the destruction of russian bridges in the Kursk Oblast.