evidence: There was no sign of Ukrainian withdrawal, or preparation for a withdrawal, as we traveled. Most of the traffic marked with white triangles was heading in one direction, right across that border into Russian territory. Kyiv hopes that its military gambit in the region will help it turn the tide in the war, which has been marked more by drone-haunted trench warfare than blitzkriegs. [...] The ultimate purpose of this impromptu excursion into Ukrainian-occupied Russia, however, was to get a glimpse the state-owned Gazprom gas metering facility just outside of Sudzha, the final operating point of the last functioning gas pipeline that runs directly from Russia to Europe. [...] Yet the Kursk incursion may have helped a wider strategic goal. By occupying Russian territory—and if Ukraine successfully continues to defend that territory—then should this conflict be frozen on current lines of control, Moscow cannot claim any kind of victory in this war when Ukrainian troops maintain a presence on its de jure territory.