Why Russia seeks corridor to Kupiansk: Expert unmasks Kremlin’s cynical plan
The enemy could sever a small triangular wedge of the front line to leverage it in future talks.
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Ukrainian Armed Forces at the front / © Getty Images
Russia is trying to join two sections of the occupied territories around Vovchansk and Kupiansk, aiming to isolate a «corner» that currently depends on a network of rivers for supplies.
Serhiy Kuzan, Head of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, told Kyiv 24 about this.
Kuzan highlighted that clashes are ongoing in the Vovchansk area to the north and near Kupiansk and further north along the Oskil in the east. The Russians are pushing to link these two sectors.
«Hypothetically, they could cut off this corner toward Velykyi Burluk. From an operational and tactical perspective, it has virtually no significance, ” the expert said.
Yet this «corner» is currently sustained by a dense network of rivers. The main military logic behind Russia’s plan is to damage these crossings and prevent Ukrainian defenders from receiving supplies in a timely manner.
Such salients are, naturally, harder to defend.
The expert emphasizes that the true objective of the Russians, as usual, is to count occupied territory in square kilometers.
«This way, they can primarily sell to their political leadership, to Putin, that they have captured additional square kilometers of Ukrainian land, ” Kuzan said.
This factor is purely political. While the capture of this land does not directly impact the front, Russian leaders may assume these occupied territories will be leveraged in negotiations.
«They can argue they are ready to pull back, because, as I said, this area has virtually no military value. Yet politically, they can bargain using these extra square kilometers, ” Kuzan concluded.