Hodges, who served as commander of the U.S. Army Europe from 2014-2017 and has helped to train Ukrainian soldiers, said the Kursk operation exposed the discord between different Russian forces’ commands and President Vladimir Putin’s personal failure to “protect Russia” — one of the main pillars of his power grip on the country.
Ukraine “has enough people” to fight, he said, but it is crucial for Ukraine’s leadership to fix the problems with the training, recruiting, and education of military personnel, especially officers and sergeants. With strong Western support, properly trained units will be “the key for Ukrainian victory,” Hodges added.
Ben Hodges: First of all, once again, all of us in the West – and Russia – have underestimated Ukraine. Its ability to put together such a capable force, and to do it in a way that caught Russians by surprise.
The second takeaway is that we don't know and shouldn’t know the official purpose of this “counteroffensive.” The government in Kyiv and the General Staff have done a good job of protecting information. They don't advertise the objectives.
I call it a “counteroffensive” more than an incursion. The goal is to create a bridgehead on the Russian side of the border that denies that area, which Russians could use to launch drones or other attacks against Ukrainian civilians or to build up forces.
The third takeaway for me is the Russian response. They have been incompetent, slow, confused. Fortunately, they were surprised, but they also still have command and control problems.
Who's in charge? Is it the FSB (Federal Security Service)? Is it the Russian General Staff? Is it Rosgvardiya (Russia's National Guard), border forces? This kind of confusion, and the hatred between the different parts of the Russian security forces, has contributed to their slow and uneven response.
read more...kyivindependent.com/kursk-counteroffensive
