Russia will launch a counteroffensive to try to regain territory in the Kursk region – Reuters

Russia will launch a counteroffensive to try to reclaim the territory in the Kursk region that was seized by Ukrainian forces, but Russian troops will face a “tough fight.”

This statement was made by CIA Deputy Director David Cohen, as reported by Reuters.

“We can be sure that Putin will launch a counteroffensive to try to reclaim that territory. We expect that it will be a difficult battle for the Russians,” Cohen said.

At a national security conference, Cohen stated that the scale of the Ukrainian invasion, which covered about 300 square miles (777 square kilometers) of Russian territory, has yet to be fully assessed.

The CIA deputy director noted that during this time, Russian forces continued to advance in the Donetsk region.

Cohen stated that Russia achieved these advances “at the cost of an extraordinary” number of troops and equipment and “may or may not” capture the key Ukrainian logistics hub—the city of Pokrovsk.

“But ultimately, none of this changes the situation in a strategic sense for the Russians,” he added.