The Timing Of Kursk...

 ... operation was chosen by NATO planners with what you can see in this video--of which I explained at the very start of this "mission"--in mind. Correct--a presence of fairly thick forests which would have made (which they did) the work of Russian UAVs operators harder. Well, it still didn't decide the issue and UAVs still provided and continue to provide critical support for what now has become a mop-up operation or, rather, dig out operation in Kursk Oblast against VSU. It was one of the tactical and operational factors strongly considered by NATO, including the idea of digging in inside those forests for a PR effect. Reports of VSU "holding the ground" was a good propaganda fodder for the Western public but, as marine from the now legendary 810th Brigade explains and shows (in Russian but you do not really need an interpreter--everything is self-evident), they tried to pull this trick in a wrong country, against wrong armed forces and people.

But, but... as you can see yourself, Pacer (Inokhodets) has very little problem with finding valuable VSU (in reality NATO's) armor and dealing with it by means of a very nasty ATGM Vikhr.

As a result--most of the roads in the small pocket in Kursk Oblast are littered with NATO's armor. 

Not a good idea in both cases: either hiding in forests or, let alone, traveling in the open--it is death sentence in both cases, and as both Alexes correctly noted yesterday--Lavrov's "demand" to lift all sanctions off Russia is peremptory and... naturally designed to be refused by the US. Russians do it on purpose...

Russia can continue with SMO for as long as it wants, NATO... well, has lost and is out of resources, that includes the US. Meanwhile, Russians produced a horror for the West, officially--Excimer Lasers. First fully Russian lithography machines are going into series production early 2026. For now 350 nm, then, 90 and then... Mikron does produce 90 and 65 nm topology already, but this is done on Western technology. Now, however, a critical range for all military and most industrial applications is already being tested on Russian-made machines. So, I guess, no more cannibalizing those Western washing machines and... tanks to extract those precious microchips for Russian missiles, of which Russia ran out like... since ever. What a bummer, right?

And What Did They Expect?

To fight Iraqi Army with "monkey models" T-72s which Iraqis couldn't even dig in properly? 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in January 2023 after an aggressive months long campaign by Kyiv arguing that the tanks, which cost about $10 million apiece, were vital to its ability to breach Russian lines. But the battlefield has changed substantially since then, notably by the ubiquitous use of Russian surveillance drones and hunter-killer drones. Those weapons have made it more difficult for Ukraine to protect the tanks when they are quickly detected and hunted by Russian drones or rounds. Five of the 31 tanks have already been lost to Russian attacks. 

In the end, it is the question of reputation--one can push this "Gulf War--The Greatest Thing Ever" only so far, but eventually even the fanboys get the whiff of desperation. Caveats like "we didn't send the latest models because Russians may get the secrets" also work only to a certain extent, after that it becomes a lame excuse, which it is, and the tank warfare undergoes a dramatic overhaul in SMO, with tanks increasingly carrying anti-drone screens and now EW complexes, as Russian Tsar Tank has demonstrated:

And this is just the start of it. I mean evolution of the technical requirements for armored forces which far from getting obsolete, as many fanboys from media rushed to conclude, are getting a serious upgrade and are not going anywhere. You just need to make them good enough for modern warfare, which no Western tank, even their super-duper versions are. That explains also the issue of NATO's AD. We saw what Iran did to Israel and its servants from NATO. Meanwhile--Moscow's Park of Victory is getting ready its exhibition of NATO armor finally making it to Moscow:

   

The exhibition will open for general public on May 1st, it is free. 

They are still adding the exhibits.