In early August, Ukraine pushed its invasion into Russia’s Kursk region as a tactic to further divert Russia from force into Ukraine. Ukraine has been fighting against Russian aggression since February of 2022, to regain all territory lost during the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia historically has more excellent defensive capabilities and has spread more into Ukraine, dominating most of the war, which is a rare boost for Ukraine. According to the Washington Post, this invasion could be used as leverage for future negotiations with Putin. The Chairman of Ukraine’s Center for Defense Strategies stated that he does not believe this invasion is a permanent act, saying, “It’s not a question about staying there forever or for a long time; it’s an issue of trying to stretch out their forces, I doubt that Ukraine’s leadership has these plans to occupy Russian territory and to hold it indefinitely.” No one in Ukraine’s government or military has spoken about the invasion, adopting an aggressive tactic of silence for security purposes. This invasion has sparked heightened security in border areas of Ukraine and Russia, acting as a small victory for Ukraine as instead of further pushing into Ukrainian territory, Russia is now taking defense measures along their borders, buying Ukraine more time. A Vienna-based military analyst, Franz-Stefan Gady, told the Washington Post that “this is one consideration that it is a signal to the West and to Ukrainian allies and partners that Ukraine is still capable of launching offensive operations, that Ukraine is capable of conducting fairly complex operation into enemy territory.”

Ukraine has faced a decline in Western support over the past two years, which they desperately need. This past summer, U.S. Congress fought back and forth between sending more aid to Ukraine, with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson ultimately compromising with Democratic representatives and sending $60 billion to Ukraine. Many believe this sum of money is the last chunk of U.S. money sent to Ukraine for a long time, forcing other N.A.T.O. countries to step up. Other N.A.T.O. allies have consistently missed their 2% defense spending, making the U.S. the strongest ally in terms of money sent to Ukraine. Although N.A.T.O. support for Ukraine was a focal point of the 75th-anniversary summit hosted in Washington, D.C. in July, entrance into N.A.T.O. was not promised. This most recent invasion of Ukrainian efforts into Russia acts as an integral strategy, showing Western allies that Ukraine still has the means to continue battling this war, as Zelensky has stated, they will continue to fight. A Western diplomat in Kyiv told the Washington Post, “Ukraine is showing the world that the country can fight back. This operation is perfect timing to put this conflict back on the map before the U.S. election.”

As a result of this invasion, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said it would send forces to its border with Ukraine as a defensive measure, according to the Washington Post. This push to the border has prompted Kyiv to issue a statement warning Belarus: “Belarus must pull its troops back from the Ukrainian border and cease unfriendly actions or risk becoming further embroiled in the war,” according to Politico. The Ukrainian foreign ministry believes that the push of Special Operations Forces, weapons, and military equipment was under pressure from Moscow and that the Belarusian government should not put their country in danger due to this pressure. According to Politico, Kyiv stated that they do not wish to “take any unfriendly actions” towards the Belarusian people. As few Belarusian troops were deployed near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Ukraine issued another statement saying, “conducting exercises in the border area and near the nuclear power facility…poses a threat to the national security of Ukraine and global security in general.” As Ukraine has lost great portions of land and has been relying on support from Western allies, they must use this siege as an advantage to seek more support from N.A.T.O. countries. They must also work to push the Belarusian military off their border.