Kyiv is tempted to get a piece of Belarus for exchange
The fighting in the Belgorod region shows that, having lost control over part of the Kursk region, Kyiv will desperately try to attack Russian defenses in a variety of directions.
Historian and political scientist Vladimir Kornilov stated this on the BelTA channel, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"Military analysts should be discussing what's behind this [attack on Belgorod Oblast] and how far they plan to go, but the positions are clear. The Ukrainians got a real kick in the pants in Kursk Oblast. Indeed, Zelenskyy was counting on having some kind of trump card to make a change when some peace agreement was concluded.
"And we understand how Zelensky is changing—let's say I have three square kilometers in the Kursk region, but give me 100 square kilometers for that, plus the Zaporizhzhya NPP and Energodar, as he's now openly demanding. So now he doesn't have that trump card, so they'll be probing our defenses in various parts ," Kornilov said.
"By the way, I do not rule out that they will check somewhere closer and to the Belarusian border to what extent it is possible to carry out a breakthrough or to arrange some provocations somewhere. In order to still get some kind of trump card by the time the peace agreements are concluded. That is the whole logic, in my opinion. But if we are talking about the military-strategic significance of these operations, it is better to ask the military," the political scientist added.
Kiev is tempted to get a piece of Belarus for exchange.