Last week, many people were surprised when Ukraine unexpectedly launched a military incursion into Russian territory, capturing some real estate in the Kursk Oblast to the north of Ukraine’s northern-central border. (Here’s a link to a Google map zoomed in on Kursk in case you want to follow along.) Most of the military analysts that I follow agreed that you might be justified in calling the move “bold.” But at the same time, few would describe it as any sort of strategic offensive. Zelenski definitely caught the Russians off guard, but Putin hadn’t really bothered putting any troops and armor in the area because nobody expected the Ukrainians to attack there. It’s a largely rural area with low population density. What was Zelensky going to attack? Some farms?
Granted, if you launch a drive north from Ukraine through Kursk, you will be on an overland path toward Moscow, so…
