This is yet another one of those headlines that snuck up and took me by surprise. Back in 2015, even before Donald Trump stood up the American Space Force, Russia unveiled its own branch of the military for similar purposes, known as the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS). So what is the VKS up to these days? Developing and launching hunter-killer satellites into orbit? Searching for extraterrestrials? Perhaps some of them are, but not all of them. In fact, a bunch of them have now been deployed to the Kursk Oblast to fight off Ukraine's surprisingly persistent incursion. Russia is claiming that the temporary transfer was required to deal with an unexpected manpower shortage in the region. Even some of the servicemen previously assigned to a Russian spaceport have been transferred to the front and put on infantry duty. I suppose all truly is fair in love and war. (Newsweek)

Russians have been left baffled after President Vladimir Putin deployed his so-called "space troops" to defend the Kursk region due to a manpower shortage amid a Ukrainian incursion.

The deployment of temporary motorized rifle of Russia's Aerospace Forces to the Kursk region was first reported by independent investigative Russian outlet Important Stories.

The unit, created between May and June, consists of personnel from security and logistics companies, engineers, mechanics, some officers, and servicemen from a Russian spaceport. There are also personnel from special warehouses of the Aerospace Forces and radar stations in Russia's Voronezh region, who were previously in charge of manning Russia's nuclear deterrent, the publication reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

I will confess that my initial read on this development was off-base significantly. When Ukraine moved into Kursk, it appeared to be a temporary distraction intended to pull Russian troops and armor away from the eastern front. I reasoned that when the actual Russian military arrived, they would be quickly chased back to their own borders and the status quo would resume. When I'm wrong, I admit it. That may still happen - it's probably the most likely outcome - but it's not happening quickly. Ukraine has blown up three bridges leading into the section of Kursk they control and they are allegedly trying to create a buffer zone. 

On the flip side of the coin, Ukraine's expectation that the Kursk incursion would force Putin to move troops away from the eastern Oblasts was barely met with any success. Russia has been moving troops from elsewhere while continuing the pressure on the east. One analyst said this week that Ukraine may be on the verge of losing Donbas because they no longer have the backup forces and armor to stave off the Russian advance. Is that really a good tradeoff? You temporarily take some farmland well to the south of Moscow from Russia (which they will obviously retake sooner or later), but you completely lose Donbas in the process? That's one more chunk of Ukraine that Putin won't even have to bargain over if there are ever any serious negotiated peace talks organized. 

To give credit where due to Ukraine, assuming that the estimates being released from both sides of the conflict are anywhere near accurate (never a sure thing) one analyst surmised that Ukraine is now reported to have seized more territory in the Kursk region in days than Russia has captured in Ukraine since the beginning of the year. That may indeed turn out to be accurate. But the ground that the Russians have gained has been hard-fought every step of the way. The Ukrainians took over a largely rural farming area with no military significance in a border region that Putin didn't even bother reinforcing. You can look at this as Putin's error or simply a moment of opportunity for Zelensky. (Or both.) It is thus far more of a PR victory for Ukraine, but one which could potentially undermine Putin's support on the home front if it appears that he's losing control of the situation. 

None of this changes my overall estimation from being a pessimist to an optimist in terms of Ukraine's chances of actually "defeating Russia." Wars tend to move in an ebb-and-flow fashion. Historical examples are available throughout all of recorded history. As long as Ukraine is fighting on its own - even with plentiful military aid being supplied by the West - this remains a David versus Goliath battle. Goliath has simply had a bad couple of weeks.