Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukraine ‘takes 100 prisoners of war’ inside captured region – and ‘launches major attack on Russian airfields’

Ukraine’s invasion of Russia’s Kursk region has “made a mockery of Vladimir Putin red lines”,  UkraineAlert editor at the Eurasia Centre of the Atlantic Council writes.

In his piece, Peter Dickinson says the latest attack was a “watershed moment” and Ukraine was able to “catch the Russians completely off-guard”.

While the aims of the attack remain shrouded in mystery, the expert explains that it is possible to “identify a number of likely objectives” – the most obvious being to ease the military pressure in the south and east of the country.

He explains the attack could force Russia to redeploy troops and such a move would ease the pressure on the frontline.

It also “creates opportunities for Ukraine to regain the military initiative”.

And when it comes to Russia’s reaction, Mr Dickinson says what we are currently witnessing is “entirely in line with a well established pattern of Russian threats being exposed as bluffs by Ukrainian boldness”.  

He notes that during the first year of the war in Ukraine, Mr Putin had warned that any attempt to reclaim “Russian land” would result in a nuclear response.

But when Ukraine liberated Kherson, the Russian leader did not respond in such a way but instead ordered his troops to retreat.

And when Ukraine deployed missiles to sink or cause significant damage to the Russian Black Sea Fleet this year, Mr Putin told his remaining warships to withdraw.

“This record of inglorious Russian retreats makes the West’s frequently voiced fear of escalation all the more difficult to justify,” Mr Dickinson writes.

“Ukrainians will now be hoping Putin’s characteristically weak response to the Kursk offensive can persuade Western leaders to belatedly abandon their failed policies of escalation management and acknowledge that the quickest way to end the war is by arming Ukraine for victory.”