Former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky said in an interview with the BBC that the Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region became a «lifeline» for Kiev. According to him, the operation gave Ukraine time to regroup its forces and prepare for offensive actions in 2025.

Syrsky said the move allowed the Ukrainian military to build up reserves, give exhausted troops a break and restore the combat capability of units that had suffered losses in heavy fighting.

He said the decision was taken at a time when Ukrainian forces were engaged in difficult defensive battles and Russian aviation held an advantage in the air.

According to Syrsky, opening a new direction forced the Russian command to commit substantial reserves that might otherwise have been used elsewhere on the front. He estimated that around 70,000 Russian troops were deployed to the Kursk region.

Syrsky also referred to the Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) direction, where he said the Russian grouping had reached nearly 100,000 personnel.

The former commander rejected the argument that the forces used in the Kursk region should instead have been kept to reinforce the eastern front. In his view, even deploying those troops near Krasnoarmeysk would not have significantly changed the situation there.