If Russian troops withdraw from Donbas, the Kursk operation will achieve military success, and the pressure on the slowly bending front will decrease.

Axar.az reports that American expert Mark Champion has stated this.

"So far, this has not worked. Instead, Russia has intensified its attacks in Donbas while mobilizing a group of forces from other regions to halt Ukraine's advance in Kursk," Champion said.

He notes that if the Kursk offensive—as Zelensky clearly hopes—can mobilize support and weapon supplies from allies and convince Western leaders to lift restrictions on the use of long-range missiles, it could achieve more.