Hodges on Kursk operation: Ukraine's attack caught Russia and most of us by surprise

While preparing for an operation in Russia's Kursk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to achieve an unprecedented success by creating a large zone protected from drones.

The former Commanding General of United States Army Europe, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, said this in a comment to CBC News, Ukrinform reports.

"It looks to me that Ukraine has somehow created a counter-drone capability, or bubble, that has enabled them to do things that were not even thinkable of six, eight, ten months ago," Hodges said.

According to him, one of the biggest takeaways has been how the Kursk campaign upended the assumption that battlefield drones have made the element of surprise unattainable in modern warfare.

"How could Ukraine build up enough capability and launch an attack that seemingly caught the Russians by surprise, as it caught most of us by surprise? […] It really challenges the theory, or the narrative, that with drones, it's impossible to get large numbers of ground forces concealed and to move them effectively," Hodges said.

Ukraine's offensive operation in Russia's Kursk region began on August 6, 2024.

On August 15, the creation of a military commandant's office in Ukrainian-controlled territories in the Kursk region was announced, and Major General Eduard Moskaliov was appointed its head.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine's operation in the Kursk region helped destroy the logistics of the Russian army and deplete their reserves.

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