Ukraine's offensive into Kursk is facing heavy losses and risks weakening the overall front line, despite hopes it could force Russia to negotiate.
Five months after their shock offensive into Russia , Ukrainian troops are bloodied by daily combat losses and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk . Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders can’t evacuate the dead. Communication lags and poorly timed tactics have cost lives, and troops have little way to counterattack, seven front-line soldiers and commanders told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so they could discuss sensitive operations.
Precise numbers are hard to obtain, but Moscow’s counterattack has killed and wounded thousands and the overstretched Ukrainians have lost more then 40% of the 984 square kilometers (380 square miles) of Kursk they seized in August. Some Ukrainian officials hope controlling Kursk will help force Moscow to negotiate an end to the war. But five Ukrainian and Western officials in Kyiv who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss sensitive military matters said they fear gambling on Kursk will weaken the whole 1000-kilometer (621-mile) front line, and Ukraine is losing precious ground in the east. “We have, as they say, hit a hornet’s nest. We have stirred up another hot spot,” said Stepan Lutsiv, a major in the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade. Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has said that Ukraine launched the operation because officials thought Russia was about to launch a new attack on northeast Ukraine. It began on Aug. 5 with an order to leave Ukraine’s Sumy region for what they thought would be a nine-day raid to stun the enemy
Ukraine Russia Kursk Military Offensive Losses
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