Ukraine’s surprise offensive into Russia’s Kursk region has left the Kremlin reeling, although the ultimate impact of the risky military maneuver remains to be seen, according to a top U.S. intelligence official.
CIA Deputy Director David Cohen told a security conference just outside of Washington on Wednesday that Kyiv’s ongoing incursion into Russia, launched earlier this month, shows no sign of letting up, forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to face potential domestic consequences.
"They are remaining in Russia. They are building defenses,” Cohen said of Ukraine’s forces in Kursk. “They seem to be intent on retaining some of that territory for some period of time.
“Putin is going to have to face not only the fact that there's a front line now within Russian territory that he's going to have to deal with; he has to deal with the reverberations back in his own society,” Cohen said. “That has the potential to change the dynamic a little bit going forward.”
Ukrainian forces first entered Russian territory on August 6, mounting what has been the largest incursion into Russia since World War II.
Some 130,000 residents have been forced to flee the fighting in Kursk, waiting for Russian reinforcements.
Ukraine’s army chief said Tuesday Kyiv’s forces had captured almost 600 Russian troops and take control of some 1,300 square kilometers of land (500 square miles).
The CIA’s Cohen Wednesday said the U.S. estimates Ukraine has hold of some 777 square kilometers (300 square miles) of territory in Kursk, although he refused to downplay the impact.
“We can be certain that Putin will mount a counteroffensive to try to reclaim that territory. But that has not yet begun,” Cohen said. “And when it does begin, I think our expectation is that that will be a difficult fight for the Russians.”
For now, Russia’s forces appear to remain focused on taking Pokrovsk, a key transportation and logistics hub in eastern Ukraine.
“The Russians are making some progress there,” Cohen said, noting the Russian advance is coming “at extraordinary cost.”
But even if the Russian offensive to take Pokrovsk is successful, Cohen warned the payoff for Moscow would be minimal.
“At the end of the day, none of it is game changing in a strategic sense,” he said.
Ukrainian strikes in Russia
Meanwhile, Ukraine sought to again put Russia on the defensive.
Ukrainian forces used drones Wednesday to target multiple areas of southwestern Russia, including one that caused a fire at a fuel depot in Rostov.
Vasily Golubev, governor of the Rostov region, said on Telegram that firefighters were working to put out the blaze and that there were no casualties.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it shot down four Ukrainian drones over the Rostov region, along with eight drones over Voronezh.
Officials in Voronezh reported no damage or casualties.
In the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a Ukrainian drone attack damaged three houses but caused no injuries.
Russian air defenses also shot down a Ukrainian drone over the neighboring Kursk region, officials said.
Russian strikes in Ukraine
In Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said a Russian attack killed at least three people and damaged infrastructure in the city of Kryvyi Rih.
Lysak said the attack came as the city was in mourning, following a deadly Tuesday missile strike on a hotel.
Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said a Russian missile damaged houses and injured 12 people.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
