Russia and Ukraine are “pursuing two different wars” with both sides believing that theirs is the strategic priority, a security expert has claimed.
Dmitri Alperovitch, founder of The Alperovitch Institute, told GB News that Vladimir Putin was largely “ignoring” Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk, choosing instead to focus on the continued push in the Donbas region.
Alperovitch said: “The peculiar situation about this conflict is that Ukraine and Russia are prosecuting two different wars.
“The Ukrainians have massed forces and successfully executed their offensive in Kursk.”
He highlighted that the Russians have not responded in the way some might expect, as instead of moving forces out of the Donbas region, they have double down in their efforts of capturing the city of Pokrovsk despite Ukraine’s incursion.
In the wake of Ukraine’s surprise invasion into the Kursk region, many believed that the move had been an attempt to divert Russian forces away from their Donetsk advance but thus far, Putin appears to have resisted the urge to send troops to the area en masse.
The Russian-born author who lives in the US believes that each side is focussing predominantly on their main effort, with neither side willing to blink first.
Alperovitch said: “So the Russians are focused on eastern Ukraine, the Ukrainians are focused on southern Russia
Mick Ryan, a former US General and senior fellow for Military studies agrees with Alperovitch’s assessment, saying on X: “The Donbas remains Russia’s main effort overall.
“The Russian Donbas campaign, along with the air and missile attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure, is a political signal from Putin that he is far more committed to hurting Ukraine and its citizens, and achieving his strategic goal of destroying Ukrainian sovereignty, than he is in defending his own people and protecting Russia’s sovereignty.”
Alperovitch believes that the land seized by Ukraine could be used as a bargaining tool in any future negotiations.
He added: “The Ukrainians feel like if they can actually hold this territory that they’ve captured in Russia, they can potentially use it as an exchange fund, as President Zelensky calls it.
“Likely meaning that he thinks it will be helpful in potential future negotiations with Russia to try to exchange Russian territory for occupied Ukrainian territory.”
He added that there are “big questions” over whether the Russian army can take Pokrovsk in Ukraine, which could lead to further gains in the Donbas region in the future.
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