Military expert: Sumy Region will not be shelled if the war is on Russian territory

On the morning of August 6, Russia announced an alleged attempt by Ukrainian troops to breach the border of the Kursk Region, where active fighting ensued. Against this backdrop, military expert and founder of the charity organization «Jet Mail», Pavlo Narozhny, stated that if the war is on Russian territory, Sumy Region will not be shelled.

He made this statement on Hromadske Radio.

«That is, they (the Russians) will have a completely different priority, a completely different focus», — the expert said.

Regarding the significance of such news for other parts of the frontline, Narozhny said:

«In order to repel this (alleged) «offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine», they (Russians) need to mobilize some combat-ready unit. We are talking about at least one brigade. They can do it, but not in one day. This is a matter of, say, a week. So, in my opinion, it looks like a rather powerful, rather serious blow that can distract and simplify the situation for our units in other parts of the frontline.»

The expert added that the events in the Kursk Region are probably not related to an attempt to divert the Russians’ attack from a repeat offensive in the Sumy Region.

«The enemy has few resources to launch an offensive in this part of the frontline. They can set up subversive reconnaissance groups, conduct artillery shelling on a relatively small scale. But to concentrate, say, 10-20 combat-capable battalions means that they need to be backed by approximately five to seven times the number of troops. They do not have such resources. Because they threw them all at the Pokrovsk direction, where the situation for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is difficult, where we are losing settlements and retreating. Therefore, it looks like a distraction of the enemy’s efforts from other areas of the front.»

According to him, it is unknown who is operating in the Kursk Region: The RVC (Russian Volunteer Corps) or some units of the Armed Forces.

«I think we will get comments in the coming days. We are defending our country. If it is the Armed Forces, they are engaged in driving the enemy away from our borders. If they do not use American equipment or allied weapons, there is no crime in this», — Narozhny said.

He concluded that it is not profitable to go deep into Ukraine, so the events in the Kursk region will not escalate into an offensive against Moscow or another city.

As a reminder, earlier this summer, Ukraine could have destroyed dozens of Russian aircraft at the Malshevo airbase near Voronezh in Russia. Kyiv had asked the US for permission to strike the base with ATACMS missiles, but Washington refused.