Ukraine’s invasion of Russia would be going even better if the West dropped its weapons restrictions: war experts

• Ukraine’s Kursk attack would be going even better if its allies gave it a freer hand, experts said.
• The US and other allies don’t let Ukraine use long-range weapons they’ve supplied to hit into Russia.
• Ukraine said the incursion wouldn’t have been necessary in the first place without those limits.

Ukraine’s high-stakes that in launching the incursion into Kursk, Ukraine likely wanted to stretch Russia’s forces and give fresh motivation to its troops and allies.

Barros said it’s not clear how the fast-moving operation would end, or what Russia or Ukraine will decide to do next.

But he said it was a boost for Ukraine to have taken the initiative after months of being stuck in a largely defensive position.

“It is now no longer the Ukrainians lying on their back for nine-plus months at a time simply trying their best to triage,” he said.

Menon described it as a “moment of embarrassment” for Russia because its response both in evacuating people and dealing with the incursion “has been disastrous.”

“I mean, there’s just no other way of putting it,” he said.