Ukraine’s week-old incursion into Russia has embarrassed Putin. How will it affect the war?
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The swift Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region that began last week has been the largest cross-border raid by Kyiv’s forces in the nearly 2 ½-year war, and has exposed Russia’s vulnerabilities and dealt a painful blow to the Kremlin. The Russian military has thus far struggled to deal with the surprise attack, which has led tens of thousands of civilians to flee the region. For Ukraine, the raid has provided a morale boost at a time when its undermanned and under-gunned forces are facing relentless Russian attacks along the front line. In a video posted Monday in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Telegram channel, his top military commander said Kyiv’s forces now control 1,000 square kilometers of the Kursk region.