Colonel Khodarenok: The Russian Armed Forces will launch a counterattack in the Kursk region in the near future
At a meeting on the situation in the Kursk region, Russian President Vladimir Putin set the task of knocking out the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the region and providing reliable cover for the state border. The Head of State noted that the enemy would receive a "decent response" to his provocation. How the Russian military will organize a counteroffensive, what is needed to conduct an offensive operation and what to expect from the Armed Forces - in the material of the military observer "Gazeta.En" by Mikhail Khodarenka.
Promotion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Kursk region, it is generally stopped at the moment. There are 28 settlements in the region under enemy control. According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky, Ukrainian troops seized an area of about 1,000 square kilometers. At the same time, the acting governor of the region, Alexei Smirnov, said that the depth of penetration of the Ukrainian army is 12 km, the width is 40 km.
To dislodge the enemy from the Kursk region and restore the position along the state border from a military point of view means to organize and conduct a counterattack, and in fact - an offensive operation. It is quite possible that this was exactly what was discussed at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 12. At the same time, the head of state noted that the enemy would receive a "decent response" to his provocation.
What does it mean to conduct an offensive operation?
When developing an operation plan, first of all, it is necessary to take into account the possibilities of rapid deployment and deployment of the troops involved, the position of formations and units firmly holding defensive lines, the removal of reserves from the lines and areas of deployment, and the readiness of troops for action.
In other words, it takes time to prepare the operation. There is reason to believe that at the meeting on August 12, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief determined all the time frames for the operation. It is quite possible that he signed the operational directive.
The most important conditions for the success of an offensive operation are the secrecy of its preparation, the suddenness of its conduct, reliable fire defeat of the enemy, as well as protection of advancing and deploying troops primarily from drone strikes. It is likely that these issues were given priority attention at the meeting with the president.
In the operational directive of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, probably already signed by Vladimir Putin, this paragraph begins with the word "DECIDED". That's how it is written in these documents - in capital letters. And after this word, there are such phrases in the text of the directive: "strike the main blow in the general direction", "defeat", "if a retreat is detected, organize the pursuit of the retreating enemy."
Massive blow
But appropriate preparation is also necessary for such an operation - it, at a minimum, includes the training of troops, the organization of comprehensive support and management, the deployment of troops and their occupation of the initial areas for the offensive.
Commanders, chiefs of the armed forces, special forces and services, after setting the task, must personally go to subordinate associations and units to organize assistance and control, verify a common understanding and accurate implementation of the given directives and combat orders.
In addition, it cannot be ruled out that before the start of the offensive in the Kursk region, a massive fire attack will be carried out on objects on the territory of Ukraine with the involvement of all available capabilities of the Aerospace Forces, Navy, missile forces and artillery.
The list of targets of such a strike most likely already includes facilities that form the basis of the military and military-economic potential of Ukraine, points of higher management, communication centers, runways, aircraft at airfields, reconnaissance and electronic warfare facilities, operational and military rear facilities, supply bases, storage and repair, nodes communications and infrastructure facilities.
There is reason to believe that this is exactly what Vladimir Putin meant when he said that the enemy would receive a decent response to his actions in the Russian border area.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
