Ukraine loses half of previously captured areas in Russia’s Kursk Oblast and switches to defence there – The Economist

The Economist has reported that as of mid-December – four and a half months after the Ukrainian Armed Forces entered Russia’s Kursk Oblast – Ukraine has lost half of the previously captured territories. At the moment, every unit of the Armed Forces has switched to the defensive, and the situation is getting complicated by weather conditions and constant attacks. 

Source: The Economist

Details: The Economist spoke to the soldiers, who were frank about Ukraine's problems in this area of the front line.

In particular, Major Ivan Bakrev, the artillery commander of the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, said that Russian troops were "tightening the screws" and that this was the case even before North Korean soldiers entered the battle.

He stressed that the Russians had a huge advantage in almost everything – in manpower, artillery, and equipment – and were switching between mechanised and infantry attacks to great effect.

Bakrev noted that Ukraine has already lost about half of the territories it previously captured. The retreat began when Ukraine replaced elite units with less hardened ones in late September.

"That was a mistake," Bakrev said.

Now, as Bakrev said, the Russians are trying to cut off the main group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Ukrainian territory by attacking from the eastern and western flanks.

"Every unit in Kursk has switched to defence," he said.

The Economist noted that the urgency of the Russian counterattack may be related to Donald Trump's upcoming inauguration.

Quote from the Economist: "Putin wants Kursk to be a done deal by 20 January, rather than an embarrassing topic for discussion. Volodymyr Zelenskyy seems equally determined to retain the pocket as a bargaining chip. The Ukrainians are holding on, though the conditions on (and under) ground are getting grimmer."

More details: Ruslan Mokrytskyi, a 33-year-old non-commissioned officer of the 95th Air Assault Brigade, spoke about the difficult conditions of the fighting in Kursk Oblast. He said that the Russians can drop "as many as 40 glide bombs on one position in the space of a few hours".

"Rain, slush, snow, cold, mud, beetles, worms, rats and glide bombs. In Kursk, death is always close; it practically holds your hand," Mokrytskyi said.

Nevertheless, he added that Ukrainian troops have so far found ways to respond to new challenges – even to Russian chemical attacks.

"If the Death Star showed up above us, we would figure a way out," Mokrytskyi said.

The Economist emphasised that four and a half months might be too short a time to judge the Kursk operation.

Quote from the Economist: "Born at a moment of desperation for Ukraine, whose commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, was facing the sack, the incursion did not achieve its goal of diverting troops from Russia’s main effort in Donetsk Oblast. It has cost Ukraine some of its elite troops. But it did ease the pressure elsewhere, and offered Ukraine a rare political fillip in a bad year. The soldiers seem to believe the counter-invasion was worth it, if only for giving the Russians a dose of their own medicine."

Background: 

• The Ukrainian operation in Russia’s Kursk Oblast began on 6 August. 
• On 10 August, on the fifth day of the operation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine had pushed the war onto the aggressor's soil.
• On 6 November, Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, summing up the results of the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk Oblast over three months, said that Russian troops had lost more than 20,000 soldiers killed and wounded in this area.
• "For almost three months of the operation, as of 5 November 2024, the enemy's losses on the Kursk front in personnel amount to 20,842 people, of which 7,905 have been killed, 12,220 wounded, and 717 captured," Syrskyi said. 

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