Russia Knew About Ukraine's Kursk Plan for Months, Failed To Act: Report

Moscow was aware of Ukraine's plan to launch a surprise offensive into its Western Kursk region as far back as 2023, according to recently revealed Russian documents.

Now 45 days into the raid, Russia has so far failed to push Ukraine's forces out of its Western territories, and has been forced to evacuate its towns and divert troops from the frontlines to halt Kyiv's advance.

While speculation still surrounds its aim, the Kursk raid has laid bare the disarray that plagues Russia's military command and put pressure on the country's political leadership.

According to documents obtained by the Ukrainian military and shared with The Guardian, Russia's military command foresaw Ukraine's August 6 incursion and failed to act on warnings from those in the region.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment on the reports.

The documents, which Ukraine said it seized from abandoned buildings in the captured Kursk region, date from as early as late 2023 to a mere six weeks before the incursion.

These include warnings of "potential for a breakthrough at the state border" by Ukraine, and orders to increase personnel and organization to prepare the army for such a possibility.

The Guardian was unable to verify the documents' authenticity, but said they appeared to be genuine military communications, primarily from units of Russia's 488th Guards Motorized Rifle Regimen.

Specific concerns over Ukraine capturing the town of Sudzha and destroying bridges over the Seym River later turned out to come true, as did warnings that the forces stationed on the border were "reserves with weak training."

Despite these warnings, Ukraine said it was able to take control of 386 square miles of Russian territory in just one week, according to Kyiv, and the raid itself appeared to bear the hallmarks of a surprise to Russia's military command.

In mid-August, General Christopher Cavoli praised the "operational and tactical surprise achieved" by Ukraine with the incursion, while decrying the Russian response as "slow and scattered."

Vladimir Putin convened a virtual meeting a few weeks into Ukraine's operation, during which he castigated the country's security agencies for the deteriorating situation "currently developing in the border regions."

More recently, Russia has organized a counteroffensive operation to push out the Ukrainian forces, which reportedly faces a mid-October deadline.

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which has tracked the progress of Ukraine's offensive since August 6, testimony of Russian military bloggers indicated that Russia had potentially recaptured a number of settlements.

Despite these reports, and claims by the Russian military that the counteroffensive is prevailing, Kyiv has said that its forces have been able to "crush" these Russian forces, and that this proved the supremacy of its military.

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