As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the US for the UN General Assembly and meetings with Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump, Ukrainian paratroopers have reportedly breached another section of the Russian border in the Kursk region, marking their second successful breakthrough.

According to Zelenskyy, Russian President Vladimir Putin "fears Ukraine's Kursk operation".

Ukraine's offensive into Russia's Kursk Oblast has claimed 1,300 square kilometres of territory, showcased its ability to conduct coordinated offensives using Western-supplied weapons, and became a strategic success in both conventional and information warfare.

The manoeuvre has debunked multiple Kremlin narratives, including "a war stalemate," Putin's "red lines," the invincibility of Russian border defences, and the all-time Russian propaganda hit, "Ukrainian Nazis".

It also undermined the imperial stereotype of Russia's territorial immunity stealthily incepted into public consciousness.

Related reading: The Kursk Curse: Russians in Ukrainian Controlled Territory Reveal the Terrifying Truths of Indoctrination

"Russians have been able to control the strategic discourse, setting up for us new rules in a war which have never existed before, like, for example, when you invade another country the entire war should take place on the territory of that country," Yale professor Tymothy Snyder said at US Helsinki Commission at its hearing on Russia's imperial identity.

"No one said that before because it's absurd and yet somehow… it has been accepted in the US as normal that this war should be fought on the Ukrainian territory."

Exposing Putin's 'Red Lines' as Bluffs

A key component of the Russian territorial immunity is the myth of "Russian vengeance" propagated by the Kremlin and the Russian government-funded media.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Putin and Russian state TV pundits have threatened the "collective West" with nuclear weapons.

On 24 February 2022, starting the full-scale invasion Putin stated: "No matter who tries to stand in our way or create threats for our country and our people, they must know that Russia will respond immediately… And the consequences will be such as you have never seen in your entire history."

Putin's ally, Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president, is also known for his sabre-rattling and playing with red lines. In March 2024, he tweeted: "Macron has said, 'there are no more red lines, there are no more limits' in terms of supporting Ukraine… Then that means, Russia has no more red lines left for France."

The delayed and limited Russian retaliation in the Kursk offensive has strengthened Kyiv's argument that Putin's "red lines" are mere scare tactics designed to deter Ukraine's allies from supporting deeper strikes into Russian territory.

Related reading: 'The Doors are Wide Open for Ukraine to Deliver a Devastating Blow to Russia - if Only the West Would Let Them'

Russia's meek response to the incursion has led experts to view these thresholds as exaggerated fears rather than genuine threats. "Next time you hear about yet another Russian red line, don't panic. Chances are, it's already been crossed - and no one in Moscow is quite sure where to draw the next one," a report in the UK Defence Journal stated.

The Kursk offensive has also emboldened Ukraine's calls for access to long-range weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory.

"The most important red line has been crossed already. And that was when the Russians entered Ukraine," said Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Breaching Russian Defences and Challenging the 'Stalemate' Narrative

One of the main goals of the Kursk offensive was to create a "buffer zone," also referred to as a "sanitary zone" by Putin or "grey zone," along the frontline - territory inaccessible to Russian artillery, meant to protect Ukrainian border areas from attacks.

The operation has revealed vulnerabilities in Russian defences and demystified the impenetrab...