Ukraine invades Russia

Last week, tired of the stalemate that has become the Russia-Ukraine War, President Volodymyr Zelensky did a strategic end around that that Russians were unprepared for and invaded the Kursk region of Russia itself. The ill prepared Russian troops they encountered there were largely new conscripts serving their mandatory year of military service and surrendered en masse.

Ukraine has occupied 386 square miles of Russia – the first time a foreign power has invaded Russia itself since the German Army launched Operation Barbarossa in the Second World War.

This military incursion into Russia marks a departure from the realm of diplomacy that had been quietly seeking an end to the two and a half year old conflict and back into the territory of seeking a strategic military.

This bold gambit has been called "reckless" by some as it diverts critical resources from the primary battlefield. Others have praised the audacity of the move.

Zelensky justified the move saying that he seeks to create a buffer area to prevent Russia from launching attacks on Ukraine from Russian territory – such as Russia's failed offensive in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine this spring.

"It is now our primary task ... to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions," Zelensky told reporters on Saturday.

It remains to be seen if this diversion of forces from the main theater of the war has created a weakness on the front that the Russians may now be able to exploit with their own offensive.

Is this offensive a game changer for Ukraine or a tacit acknowledgement that making meaningful progress against Russia's dug-in forces occupying Eastern Ukraine is a doomed endeavor?

The big question is how does Russian President Vladimir Putin respond to this deep incursion on Russian territory. Does it force him to seek a diplomatic end to this war – the largest land war fought in Europe since World War II or does it cause the Russian dictator to escalate the conflict?

Zelensky's western allies have been very supportive of Ukraine to this point. Does this move increase their confidence in Ukraine's ultimate victory, or does it lead them to concern of a wide war perhaps drawing NATO and the U.S. in?

None of this is clear at the moment.

To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com