BERLIN, August 21. /TASS/. The Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Kursk Region threatens to accelerate Ukraine's defeat, thus streamlining peace talks where Russia holds all the negotiating power, the Die Welt newspaper said.
The article’s author Christoph B. Schlitz gave four supporting arguments. "First, the West will be less willing to provide urgently needed weapons in the short term," the columnist said. He recalled the assessment of US analyst Michael Coffman, who suggested that Western countries may now be afraid to transfer new weapons for fear of escalating the conflict.
"This is proven by many things, such as the reaction of Western governments: instead of encouragement and statements about new arms deliveries, there is only silence. If the operation in the Kursk Region fizzles, the West will deliver even fewer weapons, and support for Kiev's actions in Western societies will diminish as the hope of a Ukrainian 'victory' finally disappears," Schlitz emphasized.
Ukraine making same mistakes as Germany during WW2
"Second, Ukraine is in all likelihood incapable of holding the occupied territories," he pointed out, noting that Ukrainian forces lack the necessary technical equipment to entrench themselves and are also under constant fire from Russian artillery, drones and bombs. "Nevertheless, time is on Moscow’s side: Russia can gradually reinforce its troops and has enough soldiers and weapons to cut off supplies to Ukrainian forces," the journalist opined.
"To put it plainly: in the medium term, Ukraine in the Kursk Region faces a defeat similar to that of the second German tank division in the Ardennes in 1944 (meaning the Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, which was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II - TASS)," Schlitz underscored.
"Third, the operation in the Kursk Region complicates and weakens the Ukrainian defense. Having carried out this surprise attack on Russian territory, Ukraine has stretched its front line. In light of the obvious shortage of its own servicemen, this is an extremely risky strategy," the journalist pointed out. In addition, according to him, Kiev is using modern precision weapons in the Kursk area, while they are lacking in other areas. As a result, it is easier for Russian forces to break through defense lines, which is already visible in the Krasnoarmeysk (Ukrainian name - Pokrovsk) area.
Fourth, according to Schlitz, Kiev's calculation that Russia would divert forces from other fronts to the Kursk Region "has been only partially justified." The article emphasized that Moscow had allegedly sent reserves from the Kharkov Region there. "But apparently this does not apply to [the forces in] Donbass," the author stated. He pointed out that, on the contrary, Russia has further intensified its offensive there in recent days, "constantly advancing" from a total of five directions.
"By doing so, the Russians could also crack the third and final line of Ukraine’s defense, which is already weakly fortified. This would have fatal consequences and would ultimately be a new catalyst for early negotiations not in Kiev's favor," Schlitz said. "Ukraine is running out of time," he emphasized.