Since last August and the complete surprise to both Moscow and its Western allies, Ukraine, despite enduring heavy battles and small losses, has managed to maintain control over more than 800 square kilometers of Russian territory in the Kursk region. The delayed but reinforced Russian response, with additional weapons and troops, has yet to break Kyiv’s resistance, and even the more than 10,000 North Korean soldiers stationed in the area have not shifted the tide of events.

Yesterday, once again, Kyiv caught Russia off guard, launching a meticulously organized counteroffensive operation deep within Russian territory. While Moscow has made no official comment, Kyiv has officially declared that its forces are advancing in three different locations, seizing new Russian territory with relative ease compared to the grueling battles of the past five months. According to sources close to Zelensky’s circle, the primary objective this time is to encircle and bring the region’s nuclear reactor under Ukrainian control—an action with dual significance. On one hand, Ukraine would hold a Russian nuclear reactor, mirroring Russia’s capture of the Ukrainian reactor in Zaporizhzhia early in the war. On the other hand, it would amplify the message that Russia is vulnerable to Ukrainian advances.

Few details about the Ukrainian counteroffensive plan have been disclosed, but it is evident that this is yet another well-organized offensive maneuver, carried out in the harsh conditions of winter. It is clear that the Ukrainians had thoroughly cleared all areas of landmines where they launched their attacks yesterday. This is evidenced by their deployment of several tanks and personnel transport vehicles across three different directions. At the same time, it appears that, once again, Russian forces in the area were insufficient in numbers or inadequately prepared to intercept and halt the Ukrainian plan in its early stages.

Kursk is proving, after more than five months, that for Ukraine, it was not just a “flash in the pan.” Behind last August’s incursion lies a clear plan that remains difficult to fully decipher even today. In any case, with these specific actions, Kyiv manages to send two messages: first, that Russia can be defeated within its own territory with the right strategy, and second, a possible glimpse of a Ukrainian plan to create a “buffer zone” along the northern and eastern borders, especially in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. This is likely aimed at maximizing pressure from Trump on Putin after the January 20th inauguration in Washington.

If the Ukrainians succeed in taking control of the Russian nuclear station in the Kursk region, it is almost certain that Moscow will find itself in a much more precarious position than it is today. While Moscow may not be as dependent as Kyiv on energy from the Zaporizhzhia station, it certainly does not want to shut down the local power grid, leaving Russian citizens without electricity in temperatures well below freezing. If Kyiv succeeds, this would mark the third significant victory against Moscow after the capture of Kherson in the second year of the war, the sinking of the Moskva flagship in the Black Sea, and last August’s incursion into Russian territory. However, this latest chapter could become a major “knot” in the noose that Kyiv and the West have been working to tighten around Putin for the past three years. After all, the last impression is the one that lingers.