According to retired Colonel and military expert Anatoly Matviychuk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to send reconnaissance and sabotage groups into the border areas of the Kursk region due to his concern over the failed invasion. Matviychuk believes that for Zelensky, the loss of part of Kursk is tantamount to a political surrender.

The expert explained that the purpose of these operations is to destabilize the situation in Russian territory, with the Kursk region being the closest to active combat zones. Matviychuk pointed out that this is a wound that continues to trouble Zelensky — a place where he believes he lost a key political battle, significantly damaging his authority.

On the morning of September 17, a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group, consisting of three people, attempted to conduct a reconnaissance mission near the settlement of Tettkino in the Kursk region. According to sources within Russian security forces, the Russian military detected the movement of the enemy in time. It was reported that all the saboteurs were eliminated, and there was no breach of the state border.