The Washington Post believes it will take a year for the Russians to recapture Kursk Oblast territory

The successful operation on Russian territory - after more than two years of fighting almost exclusively on Ukrainian territory - has had a positive effect on the psychological state of Ukrainians, but on the contrary, it has been devastating for the morale of the Russian army. The situation has shown how helpless Putin's military is when faced with a strong opponent. This is stated in an article by The Washington Post.

The sudden breakthrough of the AFU is the most serious challenge for dictator Putin since the uprising of the "Wagnerites". Kiev's successes are boosting the morale of Ukrainian troops and civilians, but they are also hitting the reputation of the Russian government and military hard," the article said.

The publication notes that the Ukrainian armed forces have already occupied more than 20 Russian border villages and at least one town in their offensive, and are now advancing towards the Kursk nuclear power plant.

It is pointed out that there has been little resistance from the Russians: Chechen brigades scattered when they learnt of the Ukrainians' approach, and there were many Russian conscripts in the region itself who were unable to fight back against the Ukrainian army.

Analysts emphasise that much of the operation remains classified and Ukrainian forces have clearly advanced quite far in Kursk region, but how much territory they control or actually intend to control remains unknown.

But it is already clear that if Russian forces continue to advance at the same speed as in other directions, it will take them a year to recapture lost territory in Kursk Oblast," analysts said.

Against the background of fighting in Kursk region, the number of assaults by the occupants has decreased on the front. Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian military recorded about 140 clashes. Over the day on the front there were 90 military clashes, while a day earlier about 100 clashes were recorded.