Russia’s last attack on Ukraine seems taken from a film

Yesterday a meeting in Saudi Arabia was held in which Ukraine and the United States reached A high fire agreement 30 days. Washington reactive help and you can use the reserve of minerals. Now the pressure revolves to Moscow, where Putin will have to say something to the proposal. Meanwhile, the war continues. Ukraine launched its greatest drone attack on Moscow. For their part, the Russians carried out the most surprising mission so far in war.

Unpublished mission. The story took place March 8. Around 100 Russian soldiers of the Private Military Company Veterans PMC, the Special Unit Akhmat and the 30th Motorized Rocileros Regiment, carried out an unprecedented operation in the Kursk region, infiltrating the territory controlled by Ukraine through A disused gas pipeline. The incursion was aimed at the city of Sudzha, a key strategic point taken by the Ukrainian forces.

16 kilometers. The soldiers, equipped with breathing systems due to the lack of air, spent four days crawling along a conduit of approximately 16 kilometers long and only 1.5 meters wide. In fact, in the last hours they have become viral lAs disseminated images In Russian military social networks showing the infiltrates within the space. The action that took many of the Russian soldiers was so surprising. It has even been reported that some of them died from suffocation before reaching their destination.

The attack. Apparently, the gas pipeline is probably part of the URENGOY-POMARY-UZHOROD SYSTEMthe same that was historically Gas transport key Russian to Europe, but that was out of operation at the end of 2024. This route allowed Russians to avoid detection by Ukrainian surveillance drones and surprise the defending forces near Sudzha.

Although the attack was not entirely unexpected for the Ukrainians, the Russian forces managed to emerge and take positions near Sudzha, where the fighting has intensified. For its part, the General Staff of Ukraine He published images of the confrontation between their troops and the Russian assailants.

Division in the narrative. Exist contradictory reports On the outcome of the incursion: while Pro-Kremlin media insisted that the Russian troops advanced in Sudzha from multiple fronts and had captured several nearby villages, including CHERKASSKOYE PORECHNOYE and KOSITSA, the pro-war analyists in Russia expressed harsh criticism to the operation.

Precarious. War experts Vladimir Romanov and Anastasia Kashevarova described the incursion as poorly planned, pointing out the lack of basic supplies and the absence of ventilation in the gas pipeline, which would have caused the death of some soldiers by intoxication with methane. On the other hand, the Russian military Yegor Guzenko argued that the filtration of images of the incursion before the end of the mission alerted Ukraine and frustrated the possibility of tactical success.

Meanwhile, Ukraine also confirmed the incursion In a statement describing it as a “sabotage and assault operation.” According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Russian troops They were detected on timewhich allowed kyiv’s forces to respond with artillery attacks and missiles before the infiltrates could consolidate their position.

The importance of the enclave. It was known that Russia has been increasing your offensive In the Kursk region, advancing from southern Southzha. Its objective seems to be cut the key road that connects Sumy, Yunakivka and Sudzha, A vital artery for supply of the Ukrainian troops in Kursk.

Sudzha, a key city in the gas traffic corridor, was captured by Ukraine In August 2024 In a surprise incursion that represented the greatest Ukrainian offensive in Russian territory since World War II. During this operation, kyiv managed to occupy 1,000 square kilometers and take hundreds of Russian prisoners, all with the aim of using the territory as a negotiation currency in future peace conversations and force Russia to divert troops from eastern Ukraine.

What happens? That months later, the Ukrainian forces in Kursk face a strong counteroffensive of more than 50,000 Russian troopsincluding the North Korean soldiers deployed next to the Kremlin units. Open Maps of the battlefield suggest that tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are at risk of being surrounded, since Russia has intensified its attacks To recover the region.

Ukraine has a problem. The truth is that the pressure on the Ukrainian forces in Kursk is increasing. Russian troops have been continuously attacking the entire front line in The so -called “Health Zone”which has hindered the Ukrainian defense. Dmitry Medvedev, former president of Russia, recently said that the Ukrainian forces in Kursk are “almost surrounded” and that their expulsion from the territory is imminent.

The challenge of maintaining this position is of great draft. With the front reducing and constant attacks on the flanks, the viability of the Ukrainian operation in Kursk is questioned. To this is added the impact of the temporary cessation of the United States military support (now It seems that restored), which has limited Ukraine access to intelligence and satellite data, crucial for defense.

Strategy or negotiation. It is the big doubt. More and more Ukrainian analysts suggest that Kursk’s replication It could be inevitable to avoid a total siege and preserve resources for other fronts. However, maintaining a presence in Russian territory has an important strategic and political value For kyiv, especially within the framework of the negotiations that have taken place with the United States in Arabia. Possibly, kyiv presented a peace proposal that included the cessation of drones and missile attacks, as well as the suspension of military operations in the Black Sea.

Be that as it may, one thing seems clear: the Peliculero Russian attack through the pipeline is a sample of the high value that Moscow gives to the recovery of Sudzha and its surroundings. As losses increase and the situation becomes more unsustainable, the great unknown is how much more time can resist in this region before being forced to rethink its strategy. If the “American” helps they will have won time.

Image | SERGEY KOLYASNIKOV

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