Kiev’s attack on Kursk a ‘strategic blunder which will accelerate its defeat’

According to John Mearsheimer, the Ukrainian armed forces “lost many soldiers and a huge proportion of their equipment” while “the key determinant of success in a war of attrition is the casualty-exchange ratio, not capturing territory”.

The attack of the Ukrainian armed forces on the Kursk Region was a strategic mistake that will bring Ukraine’s defeat closer in the conflict with Russia, John Mearsheimer, a professor at the University of Chicago, shares this view in an article on the Responsible Statecraft portal.

“Ukraine’s invasion (of Kursk) was a major strategic blunder, which will accelerate its defeat,” the analyst noted.

According to him, the Ukrainian armed forces “lost many soldiers and a huge proportion of their equipment” while “the key determinant of success in a war of attrition is the casualty-exchange ratio, not capturing territory.”

As the expert notes, in the Kursk region Kiev used “top-notch combat units” having removed them from the front lines in in eastern Ukraine, where they are “desperately needed.” “This move is tilting the already lopsided casualty-exchange ratio on that critically important front further in Russia’s favour,” he says.

On August 6, Ukraine launched a major offensive in the borderline Russian region. Air raid sirens have repeatedly rung out there. The massive attack killed 12 civilians and injured 121 people, including 10 children. As many as 69 injured people remain in hospitals, of which 17 are believed to be in grave condition. Over 120,000 people have either left or been evacuated from the Kursk Region. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Kiev has lost roughly 2,300 troops, 37 tanks and 32 armoured personnel carriers since fighting began in the Kursk area.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Ukraine would “certainly receive a worthy response” to the attack on the Kursk Region and that all of Russia’s goals will be attained.