charap3_ TATYANA MAKEYEVAAFP via Getty Images)_kursk TATYANA MAKEYEVA/AFP via Getty Images)

How to Make the Most of the Kursk Gambit

To capitalize on the increased leverage afforded by its military successes in Russia’s Kursk region, Ukraine should pursue negotiations to de-escalate and eventually end the war. Even if the Kremlin rejects talks, that will be useful information for everyone involved.

WASHINGTON, DC – Ukraine’s bold incursion into Russia’s Kursk region gives the country a much-needed breakthrough on the battlefield, and represents yet another setback for the Kremlin. Yet the operation is not a military game-changer. Even as Ukrainian forces have occupied more than 400 square miles of Russia, the Russian military has been making significant advances along the front line in Ukraine’s Donbas region and pummeling the country from the air. Neither Russia nor Ukraine is in a position to achieve an absolute military victory; this war will be concluded at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield.

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