Five months after their shock offensive in Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied and demoralized by the increasing threat of defeat Kurska region that some want to hold on to at all costs, while others question the value of entering.
The fighting is so intense that some Ukrainian commanders are unable to evacuate the dead. Communication delays and poorly timed tactics have cost lives and troops have little opportunity to counterattack, seven frontline soldiers and commanders said The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so that they could discuss sensitive matters.
Since being caught off guard by Ukraine’s lightning-fast invasion, Russia has amassed more than 50,000 troops in the region, including some from its ally North Korea. Exact numbers are difficult to determine, but Moscow’s counterattack has killed and injured thousands, and the overwhelmed Ukrainians have lost more than 40 percent of the 984 square kilometers of Kursk they captured in August.
After the all-out invasion three years ago, Russia held a fifth of Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated he hopes control of Kursk will help force Moscow to negotiate an end to the war. But five Ukrainian and Western officials in Kiev, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss sensitive military matters, said they fear gambling on Kursk will weaken the entire 1,000-kilometer front line and give Ukraine valuable ground to the east lose.
“We hit a hornet’s nest, as they say. “We have created another trouble spot,” said Stepan Lutsiv, a major with the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade.
The border raid that became an occupation
Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukraine launched the operation because officials believed Russia was about to launch a new attack on northeastern Ukraine.
It began on August 5 with orders to leave Ukraine’s Sumy region for what they said was a nine-day attack to stun the enemy. It became an occupation that Ukrainians welcomed as their smaller country gained influence and embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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As he gathered his men, a company commander said to them, “We are making history; The whole world will know about us because this hasn’t happened since World War II.”
In private, he was less sure.
“It seemed crazy to me,” he said. “I didn’t understand why.”
Shocked by the success, which was largely due to the surprise of the Russians, the Ukrainians received orders to advance beyond the original mission to the city of Korenevo, 25 kilometers into Russia. This was one of the first places where Russian troops counterattacked.
In early November, the Russians quickly began retaking territory. Once in awe of what they have accomplished, the troops’ opinions are now changing as they come to terms with the losses. The company commander said half his troops were dead or wounded.
Some front-line commanders said conditions were difficult, morale was low and troops questioned command decisions, even the very purpose of occupying Kursk.
Another commander said some orders his men received did not reflect reality due to communication delays. Delays would mainly occur if areas were lost to Russian troops, he said.
“They don’t understand where our side is, where the enemy is, what is under our control and what is not,” he said. “They don’t understand the operational situation, so we act at our own discretion.”
A platoon leader said higher-ups repeatedly rejected his requests to change his unit’s defensive position because he knew his men couldn’t hold the line.
“Those who hold out until the end end up missing,” he said. He said he also knew of at least 20 Ukrainian soldiers whose bodies had been left behind in the last four months because the fighting was too intense to evacuate without further casualties.
No option to withdraw as Russia doubles down
Ukrainian soldiers said they were unprepared for the aggressive Russian response in Kursk and could not counterattack or withdraw.
“There is no other option. We will fight here because if we simply retreat to our borders, they will not stop; They will continue to advance,” said a drone unit commander.
This was announced by the General Staff of Ukraine The Associated Press in a written response to questions that Ukrainian combat units inflict daily losses on Russian personnel and military equipment and are supplied with “everything necessary” to carry out combat missions.
“Troops are managed in accordance with situational awareness and operational intelligence, taking into account the operational situation in the areas where tasks are carried out,” the response said.
Longer-range American weapons have slowed the Russian advance and North Korean soldiers who joined the fighting last month are easy targets for drones and artillery because they lack combat discipline and often move in large groups in the open, Ukrainians said Troops.
On Monday, Zelensky said 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed and wounded. But they appear to be learning from their mistakes, the soldiers added, by becoming more adept at camouflaging themselves near forest lines.
A clash occurred last week near the Vorontsovo tract, a forested area between the settlements of Kremenne and Vorontsovo.
Until last week, the area was under the control of Ukraine. This week, part of it was lost to Russian forces and Ukrainian troops fear they could reach a key logistics route.
With casualties on the front in the eastern Donbass region, where Russia is closing in on a key supply hub, some soldiers are becoming more vocal about whether Kursk was worth it.
“The only thing the military can think about now is that the Donbas was simply sold,” said the platoon leader. “At what price?”
