Kursk incursion lifts Ukraine’s hopes but some expect ‘nightmare’ in Donbas
Al Jazeera
The surprise offensive is boosting morale among some troops but as evacuations are under way, Russia is advancing towards Pokrovsk.
Kyiv, Ukraine – Olena Dovzhenko no longer feels depressed after reading wartime news reports.
For months, the 27-year-old fitness club manager was disheartened by reports about bloody fighting and continual losses of towns and villages in eastern Ukraine.
These days, she smiles whenever she reads or watches videos about Ukraine’s surprise incursion into the western Russian region of Kursk.
“We’re kicking a**. Within days, we seized more land than the [Russians] had occupied this year,” Dovzhenko told Al Jazeera with a smirk, showing an online map of the Kursk areas seized since August 6 on her smartphone.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on Monday that Kyiv controls 1,250sq km (777sq miles) in Kursk.
