For the fifth month in a row, the operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continues in the Kursk region of Russia. Despite the serious Russian deployment of troops, Ukraine continues to hold a significant part of the positions. This is reported by The Washington Post .
It is noted that the intensity of the attacks in the Kursk region signals Putin's growing desperation to remove this "trump card" from the table as soon as possible amid growing pressure over possible negotiations to end the war before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
According to the Ukrainian military, Russia has sent 60,000 soldiers to the region and is attacking Ukrainian positions with all the means at its disposal. Often the Russians move around on motorcycles, carts, bicycles and on foot to limit their losses on roads controlled by Ukrainian firepower. In addition, in recent days, waves of North Korean troops have appeared on the battlefield in the Kursk region, advancing in large groups, which made them an easy target.
"In August, Putin downplayed the brazen invasion of Ukraine, calling it a futile secondary action compared to the main hostilities in eastern Ukraine. But nearly five months later, as hostilities intensified, the battle for this corner of western Russia proved that Ukraine's invasion across the border was a turning point in the war, even if the final outcome remains unclear," WP writes.
The commander of the 82nd brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Dmytro Voloshin, admitted that at first he was skeptical about the Kursk operation in general, but since then the importance of this battle has become "undeniable".
Supporters of the operation believe that the attack was the only option for Ukraine. While Russia continues to target Sumy Oblast, it is also using its weapons at home for the first time, damaging its own cities and infrastructure, not just Ukraine, the article points out.
It is noted that the operation forced Russia to resume the exchange of captured "Azovs", as well as withdraw tens of thousands of soldiers from the front line in Ukraine.
"This is a story of principle for Putin, first of all. He threw here ready and best brigades. These are educated, self-confident types... We are fighting the elite. We took them away from other regions, - said the commander of the 225th Assault Battalion of Ukraine, Captain Oleg Shiryaev. "We will not go anywhere."
The publication added that Ukraine has more reasons than ever to stand by its positions in Russia. According to officials, if they retreat, 60,000 Russian soldiers will follow them into Ukraine.
North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region - what was reported
We will remind, as written in The Times, Russia is throwing hundreds of North Korean soldiers into a "meat grinder" in the Kursk region.
Describing one of the most massive attacks, Vitaliy, a 35-year-old special forces officer, said that, judging by everything, the Koreans had a simple order to “advance or die”:
"Seeing such a large group moving together was like a dream for our mortars and machine gunners. I don't know if they all died. But let's say this, the attack was stopped quite quickly."
