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Forbes analyst and Israeli expert clash over Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast

Forbes’ David Axe decries the move as “pointless,” while Israeli analyst Yigal Levin argues it’s a crucial tactic in Ukraine’s defense strategy.

byYevheniia Martyniuk

07/08/2024

2 minute read

Destroyed checkpoint on the Russian border in Kursk Oblast. Photo: Ukrainian volunteer Serhiy Sternenko via Telegram.

Forbes analyst and Israeli expert clash over Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast

David Axe, a Forbes analyst, has characterized the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ reported incursion into Russia’s Kursk region as “pointless.”

While Ukraine has not confirmed the operation, it’s worth noting that such actions could be considered within Ukraine’s right to self-defense, given the full-scale Russian aggression that has persisted for over two years.

“It’s all very dramatic—and also a shameful waste of precious military resources,” the expert said.

The operation, reported by Russian sources on 6 August, centers around the town of Sudzha, which Axe argues has minimal military significance.

Axe contends that this offensive diverts crucial resources from more critical areas, such as defending the settlement of Niu-York in Donetsk Oblast, where Ukrainian forces are reportedly retreating. He predicts a short-lived occupation of Sudzha, suggesting the operation will be a footnote in the war’s history.

Contrasting this view, Israeli military expert Yigal Levin supports the strategy, arguing that transferring conflict to enemy territory is a sound tactic.

“This is the logic of transferring the war to enemy territory—so that their territory burns and is destroyed, not yours. So that their cities burn and their residents suffer, not yours. This is what the Kremlin has feared from the very beginning,” the expert wrote on Telegram.

The incursion reportedly involves a significant force, including armored vehicles, distinguishing it from previous smaller-scale raids in 2023. These earlier incursions were conducted by volunteer Russian units fighting for Ukraine, such as the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion, in Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts.

Ukraine did not make official announcements regarding the events in the Kursk oblast. Ukraine may conduct hostilities on the territory of the Russian Federation, exercising its legal right to self-defense. Ukraine endures devastating Russian agression for more than two years.

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