Ukraine losing ground in Russia’s Kursk region
- 26 November, 06:09
Kyiv is losing ground in Russia’s Kursk region where Ukrainian troops launched surprise incursion and seized swathes of lands in August.
According to a senior Ukrainian military official, 40% of land seized during large-scale incursion in Kursk, has now been lost. Ukraine now controls 800 square kilometers out of 1,376 square kilometers seized in early August. Russia has been deploying tens of thousands of soldiers, including North Korean troops in Kursk region in an attempt to oust Ukrainian army from the region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenzkiy earlier said that Russian President Vladimir Putin would seek to oust Ukrainian troops out of Kursk before US president Donald Trumps’ inauguration on January 20th next year. "And all these stories, all these demonstrative strikes with new missiles, are not just for show. He has set this task," he explained. Speaking about the importance of holding Kursk, Zelenskiy urged Ukrainian generals to be in the trenches alongside the soldiers.
"For me, a general who has not been in a trench is not a general, despite his experience. With all due respect, today the most difficult situation is on the front line, in the trench," said the Ukrainian leader.
Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk has forced evacuation of 120,000 civilians. It should be noted that the past week has seen the worst escalation in hostilities since the start of Ukraine’s invasion in February 2022.
