How Ukraine pulled off its biggest gamble: invading Russia
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Elements of at least six Ukrainian brigades are involved, according to the soldiers and the FT’s review of combat footage published by the Ukrainian brigades on social media.
Volodymyr and the paratroopers of the 82nd brigade were brought to Ukraine’s northern Sumy region days before the operation began.
Other soldiers said —and their social media videos showed — that they had previously fought in flashpoints in the eastern Kharkiv region, where they were holding back Russian forces that had launched their own cross-border incursion there in May.
They had also been in Donetsk region, where the strategic towns of Chasiv Yar, Niu-York and Toretsk have been under relentless Russian attack for months.
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Denys said the main goal of the operation was to capture Russian land. “We can fight here and take their territory. And then negotiations can start, and we will have some land of theirs to trade for our land,” he said.
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Other soldiers said the objectives also included forcing Russia to divert resources from the Ukrainian front line. It is too early to tell whether they have been successful, with reports indicating only small numbers of troops have been pulled away from the Kharkiv and Donetsk fronts.
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Some soldiers admitted to initially questioning the operation. A few said they were worried about leaving positions in Donetsk when the Russians were still making daily advances and threatening Kyiv’s hold on its last remaining cities there.
Denys worried that the operation could come at the cost of cities in the Donetsk region. “Niu-York will be captured, 100 per cent,” he said. “It could even happen tomorrow.”
Russian forces were also likely to take Chasiv Yar and Toretsk, he predicted.
Before the Kursk operation, a senior Ukrainian official warned that “cracks” were forming in the defensive lines in the east.
