Nearly two weeks after Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Russia’s Kursk region, Moscow’s response has been marked by disarray rather than decisive action. Instead of assembling a formidable counterforce, Russia has resorted to hastily deploying young conscripts from across the country, pulled from less active fronts. This has led to a surge in requests for help from conscripts and their families, as reports of these young soldiers being sent to Kursk emerged amidst Ukraine’s continued advance.
The situation has become so dire that Ivan Chuvilayev, a representative of Go by the Forest, a Russian NGO assisting citizens in avoiding conscription, told the Financial Times, “People are horrified. We are overwhelmed with requests and can barely keep up.” He further revealed, “It started in some regions, but now it is clear that conscripts are being mobilized from all over Russia.”
According to Dara Massicot, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, “The initial force in the Kursk area was FSB Border Troops, Akhmat fighters from Chechnya, and local ground forces units taken from the Moscow or Leningrad military districts. Now, they have brought in additional forces subordinate from the Leningrad and Moscow military districts — some of them are conscripts.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on Saturday, claimed that his troops had strengthened their positions in Russia’s Kursk region, nearly two weeks into their incursion. He called for bold decisions from Kyiv’s allies, urging them to allow for long-range strikes against Russia.
Ukraine has claimed to have seized more than 80 settlements, covering over 1,150 square kilometers (444 square miles) in Kursk since August 6th. This represents the biggest invasion of Russia since World War Two. Zelenskiy further stated that his army chief, Oleksander Syrskyi, had reported continued Ukrainian advances and the capture of more Russian servicemen. He assured that the operation in the Kursk region was progressing as planned.
Zelensky reiterated his calls for Ukraine’s Western allies to permit long-range strikes on Russia. While Western governments have provided military aid to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February 2022, they have so far declined to allow Ukraine to utilize long-range weapons, citing the perceived risk of escalating the conflict.
Russia has responded to the incursion by calling it a major provocation and vowing to retaliate with a “worthy response.” This comes over two and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
