Some of Ukraine’s top military commanders opposed President Volodymyr Zelensky’s plans to invade Russia’s Kursk Oblast, but he went through with the assault anyway, POLITICO reported Tuesday.
The report, which cited Ukrainian military officials, said that Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, the former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the UK, opposed the offensive when Zelensky first broached the idea earlier this year.
Zaluzhny opposed the offensive because there was no clear second step once the border was breached. "He never got a clear answer from Zelensky," one of the Ukrainian officials said. "He felt it was a gamble."
 |
| Russian Defense Ministry |
Another Ukrainian officer who opposed the invasion was Emil Ishkulov, the former commander of Ukraine’s 80th Air Assault Brigade. He was removed from his position in July, which drew protests from senior Ukrainian military officials, who said they didn’t understand why Ishkulov was dismissed.
Ukrainian media reported at the time of his dismissal that Ishkulov was removed because he "opposed a task that didn’t correspond to the brigade’s strength."
Two senior Ukrainian military officials told POLITICO that Ishkulov opposed the Kursk invasion because he thought the brigade would be too exposed inside Russia and would suffer heavy casualties.
Russia recently began a counteroffensive in Kursk and has recaptured some villages. One purpose of the Ukrainian invasion was to distract Russia from the Donbas region, where Russian forces have been making steady gains. But that has failed as Russian troops continue to close in on the Donetsk city of Pokrovsk.
Another purpose of the invasion was to psychologically impact Russian civilians, a strategy that was praised by Richard Moore, the head of the British spy agency MI6, during a joint public appearance with CIA Director William Burns.
Moore said the operation was "typically audacious and bold on the part of the Ukrainians, to try and change the game" and that it had "brought the war home to ordinary Russians."
