This is CBS Eye on the World with John Bachelor.

This is CBS Eye on the World with John Bachelor.

This is CBS High in the world.

I'm John Bachelor, welcoming Anatole

Leaven of the Quincy Institute for Responsible State Craft

to help me interpret the Eurasian continent at war in Ukraine and in the Middle East.

We begin with the headlines from London.

Russia says it recaptured 10 villages and cursed counterattack. This news came for the first time in the last 12

hours, announced by a Chechen general special forces in Moscow after some days and weeks of speculation that the

cursed salient was not especially priority for Moscow not to draw troops away from the Donbass and now and I told a very

good evening to you is this something that surprises you or did you expect this

a counterattack days after the original events?

Good evening to you.

Hello John.

Well I certainly expected a Russian counterattack in Kursk at some stage because you know they can't possibly allow Ukraine

to go on holding Russian territory. I didn't particularly expect it now, but I think you know what it does

illustrate is of course what well what we all know which is simply that Russia has a good many

more troops than the Ukrainians and this allows it to attack simultaneously in the Don Bass and in Kursk.

No doubt they also want to prevent the Ukrainians from transferring some of their best

troops from Kursk to the Donbass front.

Because, you know, what is also very evident, I think, you know, from the performance of both Russian and Ukrainian conscripts and

reports we've been hearing that of course it's not just about how many troops but

...