Putin scrambles as Ukraine claims more territory inside Russia
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A surprise Ukrainian offensive is reportedly forcing Russia to pull some troops out of Ukraine to defend a new front line on its own territory.
The big picture: The daring incursion has provided a much-needed morale boost for Ukrainian forces and is yet another instance of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion spinning out of his control.
- Dmytro Lykhoviy, a Ukrainian army spokesperson, told Politico Tuesday that Russia is relocating some of its military units from Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions back to Russia to try and rebuff the Ukrainian advance.
- Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on X that Russia had previously targeted Ukrainian civilians while knowing its own territory was "inviolable," but "today, Ukraine is showing that this is not the case."
- The offensive is a major embarrassment for the Kremlin, which seems to have been caught entirely by surprise. But Kyiv will likely find the territory it has taken hard to defend, and is taking big risks by pushing troops and heavy weaponry into Russia.
Driving the news: Ukraine launched its offensive last week and has seized roughly 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of Russian territory so far, Ukraine's top military commander said Monday.
- The incursion into Russia's Kursk region is intended to hamper Russia's ability to launch cross-border strikes inside Ukraine, Zelensky said in his nightly address Monday.
- The full extent of Ukraine's ground operation is unclear, though social media posts from Ukrainian forces in Russia appear to show some in Russia's Belgorod region, just south of Kursk, the Washington Post reported.
Between the lines: For much of the war, the U.S. and other Western allies barred Ukraine from using the weapons they provided to carry out offensive strikes inside Russia, for fear of escalation.
- In May, the U.S. and other Western allies reversed course, though the U.S. kept a restriction on long-range strikes in place. Previous Ukrainian strikes inside Russia had been carried out using Ukrainian-made weapons.
- Ukraine's current offensive into Russia would be "less necessary" if Ukraine were permitted to conduct long-range strikes deep into Russia, a spokesperson for Ukraine's foreign ministry said Tuesday, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Zoom in: Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a press briefing Monday that the U.S. is in contact with Ukrainian leadership but had not been given advance warning about the incursion into Russia.
Flashback: While the involvement of Ukrainian ground troops makes this incursion unique, it's not the first time in the war that Russia's vulnerabilities were highlighted.
- In June 2023, former Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin led a short-lived rebellion against Putin, coming within 125 miles of Moscow before turning back. Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash just two months later.
- Previous drone attacks on Moscow and the Kremlin, as well as the explosion of a bridge linking Russia and Crimea, have brought the war home to Russia.
Go deeper: Ukraine seizes broad swath of Russian territory in cross-border assault
