In the early hours of a recent day, within Russia’s territory overrun by Ukrainian forces, three soldiers who were part of a special operations team in Ukraine hastily got into their vehicle with a shattered rear windshield – a result of explosives dropped by a Russian drone a day before – and headed for Ukraine.
Upon their arrival in Kyiv six hours later, they brought along crucial documents stored in stacked boxes at the back of the vehicle. These documents, which included Russian military orders and paperwork from the country’s interior ministry, were obtained during a daring four-day mission in hostile territory. The team gathered the papers from Sudzha – the epicentre of Ukraine’s unexpected Kursk operation – and deserted Russian trenches in the area.
A member of the team, Artem, reflected on the mission during a brief pause on the road just a few hours after exiting Russian territory, stating, “The clarity of what you’ve done and where you’ve been comes only later; it all seems a haze when you’re in the midst of it.”
The audacious incursion into Russia by the Ukrainian forces, currently in its fourth week, has thrown a curveball at the Kremlin. Administrative buildings are seeing their Russian flags being taken down, Russian civilians are the ones seeking refuge as foreign troops patrol their localities, and Russia is left scrambling to affirm control over its borders.
There are other fronts where the Ukrainian forces are facing strenuous resistance, but this bold move into Russia has provided the much-needed morale lift to Ukraine after an extended period of disheartening updates.
The David and Goliath struggle appeals to their defiance, says a Western diplomat stationed in Kyiv. He also adds that the uplifted spirits among the political elite are being attributed to the success of the Kursk operation in the recent weeks.
Part of the initial thrill came from the sheer unexpectedness of it. Naturally, the plans for the operation were discussed privately between the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and his chief military commander. A select few were privy to the mission. Mykhailo Podolyak, a crucial aide to Zelenskiy, explains in an interview in Kyiv: “Our war experience so far shows that an operation has a higher chance of success when the number of people in the know is kept to a minimum. Very few people were aware of it beforehand,” he added.
In the period leading up to the encroachment, inhabitants of Sumy, Ukraine’s bordermost city, became aware of the increasing military presence in the city and its outskirts, though they weren’t sure of the reason. With limited rental choices in Sumy, locals noted rising demands for available accommodations to house the incoming soldiers. Dmytro Tishchenko, the CEO of an online media platform cukr.city, which focuses on Sumy’s news and lifestyle, hinted that the pieces of the puzzle began fitting once the military manoeuvre began.
Even the soldiers themselves were largely uninformed about their impending situation. One of them shared that they were under the impression that their move to this area was to safeguard against potential Russian intrusion, following their arrival a week prior to the attack.
Last week, Ukrainian officials claimed dominance over about 1,300 sq km of Russian lands, including nearly 100 communities – primarily smaller villages, but also encompassing Sudzha town, which had a population of 5,000 pre-attack. The route from Sumy to the Russian border teems with military transportations, with different types of vehicles including motorcycles and tanks driven by soldiers, heading towards Russia.
As reported by Ukrainian troops stationed in Sudzha, the town now appears largely abandoned with an unpleasant odour engulfing the air, caused by uncared-for produce decaying in the end-of-summer warmth. Most residents escaped further into Russia at the onset of the assault. Those who couldn’t are now trapped in the town, cut off from the outer world with no power and phone connectivity, relying solely on patrolling Ukrainian troops for updates.
Gleefully, one recently deployed soldier disclosed that the trapped Russian residents are informed that Ukrainian forces have seized Kursk and are pressing ahead towards Moscow, suggesting it’s time for them to pick up Ukrainian. Soldiers coming back from Sudzha often bring back mementos – Russian flags, propaganda material from official premises and even Vladimir Putin-themed tees from Sudzha’s market stalls, but they insist they do not instil the same level of fear that Russian invaders have inflicted upon Ukrainian towns.
Sudzha has been fully under Ukrainian dominance for the past two weeks. However, the looming danger of Russian drones and the skirmishes at the frontier are unnerving. Artem, on a close encounter, mistook his reflection in a mirror, left in a hollow Russian trench, for a fleeing Russian soldier. Another squad member, Serhii, speaks about the isolation felt when traversing enemy territory under cover of darkness.
Presently, there seems to be a halt in the progression of Ukraine, but Russia too, hasn’t managed to recover its lost areas. The capital, Kyiv, has expressed no interest in occupying Russian soil, but is currently focused on holding its captured territories.
Drawing a stark contrast with Russia, Podolyak mentions, Ukraine has no plans to modify its constitution to include the new areas. Their main goals are to keep Russian artillery at bay, demolish the existing military infrastructure and influence the public opinion in Russia.
To Kyiv, this invasion serves as a communication to its global allies while the call for negotiation with Russia becomes increasingly significant. Alyona Getmanchuk, the brain behind the New Europe Center in Kyiv, emphasises that Ukraine is striving to secure a legitimate dialogue with Russia, rather than a masked surrender.
Podolyak initially rebuts any speculation of Kyiv eyeing future discussions, but then adds that Russia, which doesn’t operate rationally, could be driven to negotiate through strategic moves like the Kursk mission.
Getmanchuk suggests that the operation, whose specifics were not disclosed to the Western allies, was a result of aggravation over repeated American caution against escalation. The Kursk operation was an indication for them to ignore the alleged ‘red lines’ that Ukraine supposedly shouldn’t violate, she further adds.
The operation had another objective in mind – to incarcerate Russian troops and employ them as negotiation chips to push forward the release of myriad Ukrainians detained in Russian penitentiaries. Ukraine reports having taken almost 600 Russian soldiers into custody from within the Kursk region, a substantial amount being conscripts. Just a week prior, Ukraine and Russia had conducted a prisoner swap – 115 soldiers from each side.
Over in Sumy region’s detention centre, Russian captives expressed their astonishment at how the war had crossed into Russian soil and their lack of readiness for warfare. Various of them had found themselves in the Kursk region just days or weeks before their capture. In an exclusive, The Guardian newspaper engaged in conversations with more than 12 Russian captives who consented to the discourse and were unmonitored by prison officers throughout, however, their precise quotations are not being published in light of international regulations pertaining to prisoners of war.
“As a Ukrainian, I abhor them, but I interact with them as I’d hope our captured compatriots are interacted with in Russia,” Volodymyr, the assistant head of the detention centre where they’re held stated, adding, “Their presence could potentially expedite the release of our own, and I would welcome that.”
Despite the emotional uplift from the Kursk operation, the reality is, a significant number of Ukrainian troops are increasingly anxious about the rather grim situation in the Eastern part of the nation as Russia fast approaches the city of Pokrovsk. Should this progression persist, the hushed speculations regarding whether the Kursk mission was a worthy endeavour are set to amplify.
However, at this juncture, the operation serves as an emblem of Ukrainian victory on the battleground. “We can utilise it to establish a safe zone along the frontier, to mitigate the assaults on us. At the very least, we’ve got captives for bargaining, and have provided our citizens with a reason for joy,” commented Artem. – Guardian