The Wall Street Journal quotes unnamed US officials, who report that Russian retreat has started as some of its troops withdrew from Ukraine following a recent incursion by Ukrainian forces into Russian territory.

One Kyiv official told Politico Europe: “We have information that a relatively small number of Russian units has been withdrawn. to deal with this incursion in the Kursk region.” But American officials said they were still uncertain how many troops were being pulled out of Ukraine.

It was on or about August 6 that Ukraine launched a massive and surprise invasion into Russia, sending their troops into Kursk. Kyiv later claimed its troops had retaken nearly 400 square miles of Russian territory in just days — a comparable amount to what Russia has seized over Ukraine this year. The extent to which Ukraine has made incursions into Russian territory could not be independently verified.

Ukraine has been relatively quiet about the details of the operation. Today, Monday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged to Politico Europe the fact that “Russian shells [were] coming in from Kursk Oblast across the border and that the situation [was a] security matter,”.

“It is only fair to destroy Russian terrorists where they are, where they launch their strikes from,” Zelenskyy said. He also mentioned that the operation could help Ukraine build up its prisoner-of-war “exchange fund.”

Military analysts say these may be only among the objectives that Ukraine may have, possibly to derive leverage for future bargaining or to drain Russian resources and thus exert pressure on other Ukrainian forces. Some believe Ukraine is seeking to embarrass Russia by popping President Putin’s image as a strongman. But while playing down the attack, the Kremlin has pointed an accusing finger at the West for the incursion, saying in essence, Russia’s “peaceful” people do not deserve to be invaded.

Answering questions from reporters at the White House, National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said: “There’s a simple solution: He can just get the hell out of Ukraine and call it a day.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Heorhiy Tykhi, the spokesman for the foreign ministry, said the operation was to save the lives of “our people and protection of the territory of Ukraine from Russian attacks.” He added that the raids into Russian territory would only come to an end when Russia agrees to resume a just peace.

Shahzad Masood Roomi

Shahzad Masood Roomi is founding member and, editor security and geopolitics at GCW. He is IT graduate and has more than 10 years experience of being a  geopolitics and defense affairs analyst. He focuses on IR, geopolitics, strategic studies, maritime security, cybersecurity issues, military aviation, history and geography. His work has published in national and international media outlets.