Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsyi has published a report on the three months of the military operation in the Kursk Region of russia, widely known as Ukraine's incursion into Kursk. The top general, however, says it was a "pre-emptive step" to avoid losing Ukrainian territories in the northern regions of Sumy and Kharkiv to a russian offensive.
"In May this year, our intelligence confirmed the enemy's plan to attack the Sumy direction from the Kursk region to create a so-called 'buffer zone' in northern Ukraine. It was supposed to become a continuation of the russian operation in the Kharkiv direction. That is why the decision was made to carry out a pre-emptive offensive operation with the transfer of hostilities into the enemy's territory in the Kursk region," reads the statement.
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Defense Express reminds that the incursion of Ukrainian forces into the Kursk region of russia began early August 2024 in a total "media blackout" mode from the Ukrainian military and government. According to Syrskyi's report, over these three months of the still ongoing operation, russian armed forces have lost 20,842 personnel, including 7,905 killed, 12,220 wounded, and 717 taken prisoner.
Equipment losses amount to 54 tanks, 276 armored fighting vehicles, 107 artillery guns and mortars, 5 rocket launchers, 659 utility vehicles.
At present, russia keeps 45,000 military personnel in the Kursk Region and is trying to deploy more: "Its own forces are not enough, so russia tries to involve military servicemen from North Korea there," Syrskyi notes. Earlier this week, evocation.info estimated that 15,000 North Korean soldiers are being trained in russia’s Eastern Military District to join the fight against Ukrainians. There are reports of first casualties among North Koreans, such as the 40 "elite" soldiers already eliminated.
"The russian occupiers wanted to seize more territories in the north of Ukraine in the Sumy region. However, the Ukrainian Defense Forces took a preventive step and continue to destroy the enemy on its territory," Commander Syrskyi stressed. According to DeepStateUA, Ukrainian forces are currently holding approximately 612 sq. km (236 mi²) of russian territory, including the city of Sudzha.
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