#kursk oblast

[rednblacksalamander]

NO FAIR, THEY'RE HITTING BACK

[i-merani]

Its funny how when Ukraine does something remotely risky all the wannabe political analysts go 🤨🤨🤨 and point out the "mistake" like "oh how are they going to hold Kursk now!" Babe, there is a foreign army in the largest country in the world, the second largest army in the world couldn't anticipate and react to a small operation by a much smaller army. There's only been like two successful invasions of this giant and one of those times it was Napoleon, even then, he famously couldn't get where he wanted to. Ukraine successfully went into Russian territory and caused whole country to scatter into chaos, the propagandists couldn't even form a proper response because it was so unexpected.

The risk was calculated and the consequences are just perfect.

[benjaminallhope-fulltimemind]

after two long years Ukraine is making major gains even after a massive slog in the south, it's the first major land invasion of Russia since the second world war! The funny thing is that Ukraine is abiding by international standards and not committing war crimes, not only that but there has been no major protests nir armed resistance against Ukraine troops in the kurk region and my best guest is that any people who would have fought are evacuating but then why wouldn't they do anything something like Ukraine citizens did during the invasion of their territory? With all that said however this is a major advantage for Ukraine for PR and negotiations, any talk going forward are no longer about begging but real negotiations since Russia risks losing territory. Wjth the November US election this kursk offensive this might also impact military aid in a positive way, despite pro-russia pundits crying about Ukraine's use of western weapons.

[alexxx-malev]

Russia. Korennaja pustyn' Коренная пустынь

[vintage-russia]

Kursk oblast,Russia (1961)

[whydidisavethistomyphone]

Reminder that the biggest weapons and equipment supplier to Ukraine throughout the war has been Russia thanks to them abandoning vehicles while retreating.

[originalleftist]

Ukraine has captured almost 400 square miles of Russian territory since it launched its counteroffensive into Kursk Oblast on Tuesday.

Hey Vlad, how about you give back Crimea in exchange for Kursk Oblast?

[tomorrowusa]

Ukraine is conducting a ground operation inside Russia in neighboring Kursk oblast (region) which is north of Kharkiv – Ukraine's second largest city.

Over the last 29 months, so often we’ve heard senior Russian officials claiming that the operation is going “according to plan.” President Vladimir Putin last said that in May, despite everything that had happened in the preceding two years: the heavy Russian casualties on the battlefield, the destruction of multiple Russian warships in the Black Sea, drone attacks deep inside Russia (even on the Kremlin itself), the shelling of Russian towns and villages near the Ukrainian border, the mutiny by Wagner mercenary fighters who had marched on Moscow. Now there is a new addition to the list: this week’s cross-border Ukrainian assault on Russia’s Kursk region. [ ... ] It’s evident that what is unfolding in Kursk region is further evidence that Russia’s war in Ukraine has not gone "according to plan". Events appear to have taken Russia’s political and military leadership completely by surprise. Don’t expect Moscow to admit that.

The Kremlin is typically hypocritical about what is going on in Kursk oblast. It's fine for Russia to illegally annex Crimea in 2014 and then initiate a full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But Putin squeals like a pig when Ukraine conducts a counter operation on Russian territory.

There’s clearly a big difference in language. When Russia poured its troops across the border into Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin called this a "special military operation" and claimed that Russia was “liberating” towns and villages. Moscow has described Ukrainian troops pushing into Russia as “a terrorist attack” and “a provocation.”

Today is day 896 of Russia's 3-day "special operation". Russia's goal of subjugating Ukraine has failed but Putin irrationally continues wasting vast amounts of money and hundreds of thousands of Russian lives on his goal of restoring the decrepit Soviet Union in all but name.

Putin is just as weird as Trump – albeit in a different way. Only a clear defeat of Putin in this war will restore normalcy to Eastern Europe.

[davidcashuk]

😂🤣

[a-modernmajorgeneral]

Earlier this week, reports began filtering in that Ukrainian forces had entered Russia’s Kursk province, in what many analysts assumed was a small cross-border raid—of a sort that Ukraine has attempted a few times since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. But as the hours and days ticked by and Ukrainian forces moved deeper and deeper into Russian territory, the seriousness of the military operation became obvious. The Ukrainians spread out as they went along, and had soon seized more ground from Russia in a few days than Russia has taken during an offensive in the Kharkiv region that began in the spring. As part of the new incursion, Ukraine has been deploying advanced armored vehicles, including German-supplied Marder infantry fighting vehicles—a striking development, given the unease among Kyiv’s allies about being seen as escalating hostilities between the West and Russia.

The initial success of what’s looking more and more like a full offensive shows what the Ukrainians can achieve if they have both the tools and the latitude to fight Russia. Ukraine’s most generous benefactors, especially the United States and Germany, have previously expressed their strong opposition to the use of their arms on Russian soil. In May, the U.S. made an exception, allowing Ukraine to use American equipment to hit back on Russian-based targets involved in the attack on Kharkiv. Still, the broader prohibition limited Kyiv’s military options.

Now Washington and Berlin may be softening their positions more than they’re explicitly saying. A Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday that U.S. officials still “don’t support long-range attacks into Russia” but also that the Kursk incursion is “consistent with our policy.” Perhaps President Joe Biden, freed of electoral considerations, can focus more on how best to help the Ukrainians now—and limit the damage that Donald Trump could do to their cause if he wins in November. The White House’s notably bland statement on the Ukrainian offensive on Wednesday was hardly the sign of an administration in panic.

Clearly, Kyiv has been biding its time. Its planning for the current offensive took place quietly—and amid many pessimistic assessments of its military prospects by outside analysts and claims that it should save its forces for combat in the Donbas. The weakness of Russian defense is in some sense shocking—but was also completely predictable because of the way Ukraine has been asked to fight. Its allies’ apprehension about taking the war to Russian territory has provided Vladimir Putin with a major asymmetrical advantage. The Russians have been able to send almost all of their troops into Ukraine itself, safe in the knowledge that Ukraine’s own partners were securing Russian territory from attack.

Moscow simply took the U.S. and Germany too much at their word. Russian forces seem to have kept only substandard troops at the border, and the fortifications in the Kursk area have so far presented few problems for the Ukrainians. The lack of Russian internal defenses first became obvious last summer, when the former Putin confidant Yevgeny Prigozhin mutinied and directed an armed force to march toward Moscow, and apparently only small improvements have been made since. “Between countries at war, there is no border, there is only the front,” the Ukrainian analyst Mykola Bielieskov told me. “The Russians have forgotten that—the Ukrainians did not.”

Andriy Zagorodnyuk, a former Ukrainian defense minister who now leads the Center for Defense Strategies, a Ukraine-based think tank, described five potential motivations for the new offensive: diverting Russian forces from other fronts, particularly near Kharkiv; discouraging further Russian cross-border attacks into Ukraine by showing that Russia’s own borders are unprotected; showing the rest of the world that, despite its size, the Russian army is weaker than it appears; testing out new military tactics; and taking the initiative away from the Russian side. The larger question is how far the Ukrainians want to expand their current offensive.

Throughout this war, widespread electronic surveillance by both sides has frequently tipped each off about the other’s plans. But in recent weeks, Kyiv built up the necessary forces so stealthily that the Russians had no idea what was going to hit them. The Ukrainians apparently carefully arranged for drones and computer hackers to suppress Russian resistance once their soldiers crossed the border. In three days, they came close to seizing the Russian city of Sudzha, through which runs a key rail line close to the Ukrainian border.

Notably, the U.S. and German governments have not publicly opposed any of this. Perhaps the two allies are no longer as nervous about cross-border operations as they were. Maybe the U.S. has finally come to understand that if Ukraine really is going to have a chance to win, it must be allowed to fight the war properly.

The real answer, of course, is that no one outside the Ukrainian government really knows what is happening—and, so far, Kyiv has been extremely tight-lipped on this operation. Having kept it quiet before it started, the last thing the Ukrainians want to do is let Russia know their intention. Whatever happens, the Kursk offensive has been a well-executed operation to this point. It’s their plan. Let them see to it.

[i-merani]

Btw russia is calling for a UN security council meeting because of Ukraine's invasion of Kursk so if yall want a laugh tune in lol

[benjaminallhope-fulltimemind]

Let it be known that Ukraine has and will continue to hold onto Russian land until Russia leaves Ukraine's internationally recognized territory. Most of all it's very telling that Putin and Russian state media had downplayed and ignored Kursk due to it being an absolute disaster for Russia, well when they aren't calling for those same Russian villages and towns to be homed into the ground. It's almost insane to think that people thought Ukraine wouldn't last a week much less several years, but never underestimate the fighting will of people opposing tyranny. Don't stop fighting until Ukraine is free!! 💛💙💛💙💛💙

[head-post]

Ukraine hits Russia’s energy facilities, derails ceasefire agreements

The Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) have continued attacks on Russian energy infrastructure despite US-brokered agreements on a 30-day halt to energy industry strikes.

On Friday, 28 March, Ukraine attacked Russia’s Sudzha gas metering station, targeting and nearly destroying the facility with HIMARS missiles, according to a statement from the Russian Defence Ministry.

On Thursday, Russian air defence systems repelled an attack by Ukrainian drones targeting the infrastructure of the Saratov oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov region. On Wednesday, Ukraine also shelled Belgorodenergo, leading to power outages for local residents.

Despite Ukraine’s public statements about halting its attacks on Russian energy facilities, the AFU continues to launch strikes. Military experts attribute the AFU’s efforts to an attempt to prevent the collapse of the Ukrainian front and restore its military potential following Russia’s temporary ceasefire.

By targeting energy infrastructure, Kyiv is allegedly seeking retaliation from Moscow, which could then be portrayed as a violation of the ceasefire agreements, according to experts. Such provocations could lead to the disruption of subsequent negotiations actively promoted by the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Analysts argue that the targets chosen for drone and HIMARS missile strikes were not accidental, as Moscow had agreed with Washington on a list of objects unacceptable to be attacked. Consequently, such targets became a priority for the AFU as potentially the most important ones for Russia, the experts added.

On Tuesday, the United States announced separate agreements with Ukraine and Russia to suspend strikes in the Black Sea and on each other’s energy facilities. The move represents potential steps that Washington hopes will lead to a full cease-fire and peace talks likely to bring an end to the three-year war.

Read more HERE

[alexxx-malev]

Russia. Maryino Estate Усадьба Марьино

[unhonestlymirror]

Made a meme

[eltristanexplicitcontent]

Russia tried to jail me for making this video in Kursk