Russia is attempting to push Ukrainian forces out of the western region of Kursk, engaging tens of thousands of troops, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said on Monday. The goal of this offensive is to recapture territory lost over the summer while intense fighting continues in eastern Ukraine.
General Syrsky’s statement comes a day after the New York Times reported that Moscow is holding about 50,000 troops, including a contingent from North Korea, on the border with Ukraine, intending to launch a major attack.
“On the orders of its military leadership, Russian forces are trying to push back our troops and advance into territory under our control,” Syrsky posted on the Telegram platform.
Although he did not mention the presence of North Korean soldiers, various sources from Western countries, South Korea, and Ukraine claim that North Korea has sent its soldiers as reinforcements to Russia.
Russia, however, has neither officially confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean forces, although President Vladimir Putin recently signed a strategic agreement with Pyongyang, which includes a mutual defense clause.
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The offensive on the Russian territory of Kursk has become strategically significant for Ukraine after it launched attacks in August and captured some settlements – the first Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
While Russia is maintaining slow but steady progress in capturing parts of eastern Ukraine, targeting the industrial region of Donbas village by village, Syrsky says the operation in Kursk is successfully holding back Russian forces, preventing them from increasing pressure in the east.
“If not for this operation, tens of thousands of troops from elite Russian units would be engaged on the eastern front towards Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, or Toretsk, which would seriously undermine our defense lines,” Syrsky said.
The latest New York Times report, citing US intelligence assessments, states that Russia has intensified its military presence in the Kursk region without withdrawing troops from the eastern front in Ukraine, allowing it to conduct offensive operations on multiple fronts simultaneously.
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Source: Nova.rs
Photo: Konstantin Mihalchevskiy / Sputnik / Profimedia