IGOR GIELOW
The week began with great military pressure from Russia in the Ukrainian War. Kiev says Moscow has deployed 50,000 troops to try to expel Volodymyr Zelensky’s remaining forces in Russia’s Kursk region, and the situation in eastern Ukraine has worsened.
Furthermore, there are reports that Russia is preparing a major action in Zaporizhia, in the south of the country, taking advantage of the widespread anemia of Kiev’s forces in the region, which has not seen major battles since last year.
The picture is complicated for President Zelenski, who last week saw Donald Trump being elected in the USA with the promise of ending the war “in one day” – suggesting, although no one knows exactly what his plans are, that American support for Kiev may cease. to force an agreement that implies territorial losses for the Ukrainians.
The action at Kursk had been telegraphed for two weeks. Ukraine, NATO [aliança militar ocidental] and South Korea say it should include part of the estimated 12,000 troops that the North Korean dictatorship would have made available to Putin.
The Russian neither confirms nor denies this, but signed on Sunday (10) the military mutual defense agreement with Pyongyang, which he had agreed in July with Kim Jong-un. According to the treaty, one country will help the other in the event of an invasion of its territory.
Having had his country invaded by the Kremlin, Zelensky surprisingly did the same in southern Russia in August. The move, however, seems to have gone wrong: the Russians have not stopped putting pressure on him in the east of the country, and his position is increasingly fragile.
According to an estimate heard by Folha in Russia, perhaps less than 25% of the territory that had been captured is still in the hands of Kiev, and now the final siege has begun with the 50,000 soldiers appointed by the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Sirskii.
Observers linked to the Kremlin confirmed the military movement, but did not speak about numbers. Be that as it may, 50,000 soldiers are more than twice as many as were employed by Zelenski in his operation.
“[Os russos] they are trying to dislodge our forces and advance deep into the territory we control,” Sirskii said on Telegram.
The general says that there have already been clashes with North Korean forces, without providing evidence. A drone video circulating on Ukrainian channels shows a soldier in a Russian uniform after a grenade explosion with features very similar to a Korean, but there is no independent confirmation of this.
Meanwhile, in the Donetsk region, Russian assault troops went into action in three directions, particularly Pokrovsk, the logistics hub that, if it falls, could lead to the collapse of Russian defenses in the area, 1 of 4 illegally annexed by Putin in 2022, but where the Kremlin has about 60% of the territory under its control.
According to Zelensky, the action forced the reinforcement of troops in the region, which makes the general situation in Ukraine even more difficult.
This Monday (11), a Ukrainian military spokesman told Reuters that there are signs that the Russians are preparing a major action in Zaporizhia, a region of which they control around 70%.
Last year, the Ukrainians tried to cut off that territory, which connects Russia to Crimea, but were stopped by Moscow’s defense.
The so-called Surovikin line, named after the then Russian commander in the war, who later fell into disgrace for being an ally of the mercenaries who mutinied in August 2023, is still there.
When it passed through Zaporíjia the week before last, Folha saw long rows of dragon’s teeth, triangular barriers against armor, minefields, deactivated bunkers and anti-aircraft batteries throughout the region.
“The robberies could start soon, and we are not talking about weeks, we are expecting them to happen any day,” said spokesman Vladislav Volochin. He cannot say whether there will be a major offensive or specific attacks.
According to the military, there has been an increase in aerial bombardments in the last three weeks, 40% more than normal, which suggests the preparation of an infantry and armored advance.
