Ukrainian forces hold back Russians on Pokrovsk front, repelling almost 60 assaults – Ukraine's General Staff

Volodymyr Zelenskyyukrainian President

Our military continues to operate in the Kursk and Belgorod regions— we maintain our presence in Russia."

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, on April 28

Essentially, Ukraine traded territory it values the most -its own - for territory it didn't value and that it couldn't hold forever,

said Christopher McCallion, a fellow at Defense Priorities, a Washington DC think tank advocating for a strong U.S. military with a restrained foreign policy

There were probably some very embarrassed Russian generals but it was a completely haywire incursion on the part of the Ukrainians - it was just mental frankly,

David J. Betz, professor of war in the modern world at King's College London, told Reuters

Russia has a strong history of successfully defending itself but unlike luckier countries which are able to defend themselves with geography, Russia tends to have to defend itself with human bodies and distance,

he said