Army chief Syrskyi considered three options for attacking Russia – The Economist

In July, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, due to the Russian offensive in Donetsk Oblast, began planning a secret operation on the territory of the aggressor state, simultaneously considering three possible attack scenarios, reports The Economist with reference to knowledgeable sources.

According to the interlocutors of the journalists, these options included an attack in the Bryansk or Kursk oblasts, as well as their combination, in order to weaken Russia's position in Donbas and provide more favorable conditions for future negotiations.

Syrskyi kept his plans strictly secret, sharing them only with a narrow circle of generals and security service personnel. Only at a late stage was intelligence involved in the plan, and the Western allies were not informed at all, because previous operations by Syrskyi had been thwarted by leaks, notes The Economist.

The army chief confused the Russian Federation by hiding the arrival of his experienced units at the border. Reinforcements were transferred to the forests under the pretext of protection against a possible Russian attack on Sumy Oblast.

"The soldiers themselves started to suspect something big was happening in early August, when they were suddenly issued with equipment: new helmets with integrated headphones, new assault rifles. They did training exercises on mock-ups later understood to represent Russian villages," the outlet reports with reference to a source.

However, when the operation in Kursk Oblast began to slow down, Syrskyi shifted his focus to strengthening the flanks along the border to create reliable defensive lines.

Defense Forces are likely trying to establish control on the southern bank of the Seym River, the source said, while Russian forces have stepped up their response, deploying experienced units to Kursk and stepping up attacks in the Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast.

The Ukrainian operation in Kursk Oblast began on August 6, and the Ukrainian authorities did not officially comment on it for almost a week. On August 12, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially acknowledged it.

On August 15, Ukraine created the first military command post in Kursk Oblast. In general, since the beginning of the operation in the region, Ukrainian troops have advanced 35 km with battles, taken control of 1,150 square kilometers of territory, 82 settlements, the army chief reported.