Ukrainian Armed Forces, photo by the General Staff
Russians are moving troops to Kursk from areas in Ukraine. These are the areas that hold neither strategic nor tactical importance for them. For instance, they might withdraw troops from Robotyno or Krynky. At the same time they do not withdraw from Pokrovsk or Toretsk. This was stated by Roman Pohorilyi, an analyst and co-founder of the DeepState project on Hromadske Radio on Monday, 19 August.
He reminded that many experts had mistakenly predicted that, amid the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ offensive in the Kursk region, the Russians would withdraw from Toretsk or Pokrovsk in Donetsk Region. However, this did not happen. The DeepState analyst explained that Toretsk and Pokrovsk are currently the hottest spots where Russians are making progress, so they cannot afford to sacrifice these areas. Meanwhile, in areas of lesser strategic importance to the Russians, they can redeploy troops to Kursk.
«We can mention Robotyno [a village in Zaporizhzhia Region]. Most likely, there are fewer aircraft there. The Robotyno ledge that they want to cut off is merely an informational pretext; it holds no strategic or tactical advantage. They are withdrawing troops from there, and this has already been officially announced. Krynky [a village in the Kherson region] and the Krynky district—there is no point in maintaining as large a group as they had, so they are pulling back. The relevant command has even stated this. There is also a significant grouping near Belgorod, close to the northern borders of Kharkiv region, and they have begun to reinforce it from there», — said Pohorilyi.
He noted that in Toretsk, Chasiv Yar, and the Pokrovske direction, the Russians continue to use all types of weapons. These are resources they deployed at the beginning of the hostilities. The Russians may not increase these resources—they may even partially change them (for example, deploying more aircraft in one area and more artillery in another). However, these changes will not be noticeable to the Ukrainian military, the DeepState analyst stressed.
He also advised residents of territories approaching the fighting to heed the authorities’ statements and evacuate.
As a reminder, the Ministry of Defence of Canada has stated that Ukraine can freely use the tanks and armored vehicles provided to it in Russia. Canada has provided Ukraine with eight Leopard 2A4 tanks and several dozen armored combat vehicles. Ukraine also received hundreds of armored patrol vehicles, and several M777 howitzers.