Why Ukraine’s Kursk incursion may be a game-changer for Putin

Ukraine h🤡as launched a major military operation to stab, grab and hold territory inside Russia.

The move i🌳s historic, marking the first time since World War II that the armed forces of a sovereign country have invaded and occupied Russian territory.

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Volodymyr Zelensky’s gambit is high-risk and high-reward: So long as Ukrainian forces hold Russian lands, Kyiv gains a powerful bargaining chip in꧃ any talks over the war’s endgame.

By blitzing troops into Rus💎sia’s southern underbelly with Ukraine, Zelensky has also dealt a major political blow to Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine’s military strategy to hold part of the Kursk region steals a page from the legendary strategist S🦄un Tꦿzu: “Strike where the enemy is most vulnerable.”

With the bulk of Putin’s assets fighting in Ukraine’s east, Zelensky has launched some of 🐭his own forces — apparently over 1,000 troops at this point — into the poorly defended border zone to its north.

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The tables are now turned: The land war for Ukraine has come to Russia, and Putin’s citizens are evacuating their h🐲omes by the thousaܫnds.

The Ukrainian government is always silent during high-profile operations suc🌠h as this one, but Zelensky adviser Mykhailo Podolyak : “We have to push them back in some areas if we are going to make those areas safe for us,” he said. “And we are creating a buffer zone.”

Zelensky himself has said only: “.”

Yꦡet this strategy also gains new political leverage.

Current polls indicate that a to trading their own land for peace with Putin, fiercely rejꦓecting any 💙effort to end the war by surrendering their own territory.

Would they accept a trade of Russian🔜 land for peace? It is an obvious factor that Zelensky must consider, now that his troops control some Russian territory and the US presidential election looms on the horizon.

On the campaign trail🐈, Donald Trump has he could resolve the war between 💃Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours.”

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Certainly, the prospects for a negotiated end to the fighting are greater if Zelensky has something to trade that a 💛majority of his people — and Putin — would accept: Russian territory.

Astonishingly, the surprise Ukrainian blitz caught the Biden-Harris administration off guard.

The State Department that the United States did not have advance🐻 notice of Ukraine’s incursion; the news put national security spokesman John Kirby on the bac𝔉k foot.

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He , “We are, as you would expect we would be, reaching out to our Ukrainian counterparts to get𒀰 a little bit better understanding” int꧅o what’s happening.

For his part, Putin projected calm. In a televis𒀰ed statement, he framed the Ukrainian advances into Russia as a “” — but not as an invasion.

That choice of words was important: Russia’s 🌺military doctrine allows for the if a conventional attack by a foreign power threatens the existence of the Russian state.

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By treating Ukraine’s blitz as a nuisance and not ꧅a fight for national survival, Putin signaled that nuclear escalation is not on the 𒀰table.

However, the “provocation” will force Russia to reinforce its full border with more troops t𒅌o prevent future ra𒁏ids by Ukraine.

The political blo🐽w to Putin is significant: This represents the f🃏irst time since 1941 that a foreign country has occupied part of Russia.

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It also recalls humiliating foreign military occupations of Russia during its revolution and civil war nearly a hundred years ago. Evಞen now, these events loom large in the Russian political memory.

Putin’s rule is premised on his promise to keep Russians safe. (after the March terror attack on a Mosc✃ow concert), he has manifestly failed to do so, for at least some of his citizens.

For now, Ukrai✅ne’s president is keeping his cards close to his vest.𒉰 He has raised the stakes.

What he does next could a൩lter the outcome of his war for Uk𝓰raine’s survival.

Peter Doran is adjunct senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.