For the second day, the Russian military has been repelling an attempt by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to break through the border with the Kursk region. Telegram channels reported the seizure of the Sudzha gas metering station, through which gas transit to Europe passes. There are suggestions that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are also targeting the Kursk NPP. Details are in the RTVI material.
Diversionary tactic or counterattack?
On the first day of clashes on the border, August 6, the Rybar Telegram channel of the former employee of the press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Michal Zvinchuk appreciated an attempt to break through in the Kursk region as “another PR campaign” following the example of attacks on border regions in 2023.
Channel “War with fakes” named the main goal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces maneuver is to create another media “victory” [победы]”The attack on the Kursk region is a media goal to distract attention from other areas where the enemy is not achieving success,” wrote “Archangel of Special Forces Z”.
Later, the military bloggers’ point of view on what was happening changed.
“This is definitely not a PR stunt. Rather, it is the beginning of a series of diversionary attacks on different sections of the front with the aim of breaking up our group,” stated military volunteer Alexey Zhivov.
He suggested that the Ukrainian Armed Forces “will try to launch one of the diversionary strikes on the western coast of Crimea.” Zhivov also agreed with the opinion of the telegram channel “Zapiski Veterana” that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to disrupt the advance of Russian units from Donbass.
Channel “Military Informant” characterized attack in the Kursk region as a “mirroring” of the Russian offensive in the border areas of the Kharkov region. According to the public, the Ukrainian Armed Forces want to “force the Russian army to start spending resources on repelling the offensive in its border area, so that they do not end up somewhere else” using the same scheme.
Military expert Vladislav Shurygin on air at Soloviev Live expressed the opinion that Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive and hopes to occupy the city of Rylsk in order to create favorable negotiating positions for itself on Russian territory.
At the same time, Shurygin noted that the expected offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces has “no strategic significance” and cannot influence the course of military operations “under any circumstances.”
The Chief of the General Staff of Russia Vasily Gerasimov, at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, named the goal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region as the capture of the Sudzhansky district.
“Atomic blackmail”: versions of the seizure of the nuclear power plant
Author of the telegram channel “Russian Engineer” Alexey Vasiliev assumedthat uninvolved units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces may attempt to land in Zaporozhye and capture the nuclear power plant (ZNPP).
“Perhaps this will be another direction of attacks in an attempt to force us to negotiate,” Vasiliev writes. At the same time, he recalled that previous attempts to land on the Zaporizhzhya NPP “ended very sadly for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
Alexey Konovalov / TASS
Senator from Zaporizhia region Dmitry Rogozin named Zaporizhzhya NPP and Kursk NPP are “obvious” targets of the attempt to break through the border.
“Atomic blackmail. This is something that all the world’s media will definitely trumpet about. That’s what they’re counting on. Call me an “alarmist,” but I’m sure I know what needs to be done. [президенту Украины Владимиру] Zelensky and [руководителю Главного управления разведки Минобороны Украины Кириллу] Budanov. They need nuclear power plants. Some to seize, others to sabotage,” Rogozin writes.
Military expert assesses whether Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to capture Kursk NPP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “allegedly gave the order” to seize the Kursk NPP in order to exchange it for the Zaporizhzhya NPP, claims political scientist Sergei Markov. Kyiv allegedly “wants to seize part of Russia’s territory in the Kursk and Belgorod regions,” and during the supposed negotiations “give them up in exchange for Russia’s withdrawal from the Kharkov region and the Zaporizhzhya NPP,” writes Markov.
Some military bloggers are confident that the capture of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is impossible.
“It is already obvious that there can be no talk of any breakthrough to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. With such losses, even if we bring into battle all the elite units gathered here, it all looks like one big adventure,” writes Yury Podolyak.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are unlikely to have reserves to move towards the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, agrees Channel “Two Majors”.
“This [захват Курской АЭС] looks like a completely delusional plan at the moment. The distance from the border to the nuclear power plant is about 100 km by road or 57 km in a straight line. It is unrealistic to break through to such a depth,” considers Alexey Zhivov.
In Kurchatov, where the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is located, “everything is calm” declares Telegram channel “War with fakes”.
“There are no prerequisites for evacuation, the station is operating normally, and Ukrainian militants are far away. The Russian side has total superiority in artillery, aviation and combat readiness, which eliminates the possibility of the Ukrainian Armed Forces even approaching the Kursk NPP,” the post says.
The Kursk NPP power units are operating normally, the radiation background is recorded within the limits of natural values, reported Deputy Head of the Station’s Communications Department to the Zvezda TV channel.
On August 7, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ advance deep into Russian territory in the Kursk direction had been stopped. According to him, the Ukrainian side had suffered 315 casualties, 100 of whom were killed, and 54 armored vehicles had been destroyed. The operation would end with “the defeat of the enemy and an exit to the state border,” Gerasimov assured.
Putin himself described the military actions in the Kursk region as a “large-scale provocation.”
“We will respond to this.” What Putin and State Duma deputies said about the attack on Kursk Oblast
