The two armies are waging some of the most intense battles of the war there, battling for territory and influence five months after Ukrainian soldiers crossed the border in the first ground invasion of Russia since World War II.
In towns like Bakhmut and Avdiivka, which now conjure images of mass carnage for soldiers on both sides, the ferocity of the fighting is reminiscent of some of the deadliest sieges that have occurred in eastern Ukraine over the last three years.
The conflict in Russia’s Kursk area has gained additional significance because of the region’s potential to be involved in cease-fire talks. facing the possibility of a new American president who is unexpected.
Russia intends to remove the region from Ukraine’s control with the help of North Korean troops.
Sgt. Oleksandr, 46, a Ukrainian army platoon leader, stated, “The Russians are putting all of their strength into capturing this territory, and they need to do it at any cost, while we are doing everything we can to hold it.” “We are continuing to destroy, destroy, destroy — so much that it is difficult to even understand.”
According to military regulations, he and other troops requested to be identified simply by their first name or call sign. They claimed that waves of North Korean infantry invading had intensified the fighting.
“When the North Koreans began to arrive, things got much worse,” claimed platoon leader Jr. Sgt. Oleksii, 30. “They are applying pressure to our fronts collectively, identifying weak spots and exploiting them.”
Russia has regained around half of the area it lost during the summer with the assistance of an estimated 12,000 North Koreans. Its attacks throughout the last week have severely eroded Ukraine’s land.
The region west of Sudzha, a tiny Russian town about six miles from the border that has served as the anchor for Ukrainian forces since they took control of around 200 square miles in August, has been targeted by Ukrainian forces in recent days as well.
Andrii, 44, a military intelligence officer, stated, “The enemy will feel superior if they keep pressing us and we don’t push back.” “If you don’t defend yourself when someone hits you repeatedly, the attacker will feel relaxed and psychologically at ease.”
According to troops, combat continues and the situation is still uncertain even though the Russians have mostly stopped the attack.
On the route leading up to the Russian border, one could see how fierce the conflicts were: Tanks, armored personnel carriers, and other vehicles rolled past damaged and exploded equipment in a constant stream.
Ukrainian missiles were visible racing across the sky in the other direction as Russian bombs and rockets detonated with tremendous impact in border settlements.
Targets were also sought by tens of thousands of drones. Although Ukraine has enhanced its electronic warfare capabilities, which limit the efficacy of drones that rely on radio waves, they have changed the battlefield. Now, Russia has saturated the theater with drones that can fly over ten kilometers under the guidance of incredibly tiny fiber-optic wires.
According to Ukrainian military, a shotgun is now the greatest protection against them.
The political situation is quite unpredictable when the combat resumes. During the campaign trail, Donald J. Trump, the U.S. president-elect, questioned U.S. military aid to Ukraine for months. He has stated his desire to finish the conflict quickly, but he has not provided any details.
Despite suffering enormous losses, Russian soldiers have been advancing steadily in eastern Ukraine for almost a year.
In the city of Sumy, which is fewer than 20 miles from the Russian border, Ukraine hopes to establish a buffer zone to safeguard hundreds of thousands of residents. By luring Russians back to their territory, Ukraine also hopes to reduce pressure on the eastern front.
The effort, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, has delivered a strong statement to the world that Ukraine is capable of more than just playing defense.
While meeting with leaders of countries who are giving Ukraine military support, Mr. Zelensky stated on Thursday in Germany, “It’s one of our wins, I think one of the biggest wins, not just last year, but throughout the war.”
However, some military strategists have issued a warning, stating that Ukraine’s troops may become more overburdened and lose territory in its own eastern Donbas area as a result of the Kursk battle.
Many of the troops in Kursk think that without their battle, the devastating losses in eastern Ukraine would have been considerably worse.
Capt. Oleksandr Shyrshyn, 30, a battalion commander in the 47th Mechanized Brigade, stated, “We have to understand the Russians use their most elite soldiers and best reserves in this area.” “It is good in light of what they could be doing in other parts of Ukraine.”
After fighting to stop a massive Russian attack a few days prior, he was still bleary-eyed.
Using more than fifty tanks, armored personnel carriers, and other vehicles, the Russians launched six waves of attacks against Ukrainian positions.
According to Captain Shyrshyn, the Russians gained a couple of miles while scores of enemy soldiers were killed and wounded and a significant portion of the Russian equipment was destroyed.
He stated, “We concentrate on the first wave, address it, and then the next one comes.” The following wave comes in from a new line of assault, leaving little time to reroute artillery or other resources.
“We lag behind,” he declared. “Then the next wave arrives, and one of them makes it to the necessary area and completes its task.”
He said it’s still hard to understand how many Westerners see the conflict in Ukraine like a computer game and fail to recognize the danger Russia poses to the globe.
He added that most soldiers still understood why they had to fight, despite the fact that Ukrainian morale had declined over the course of the almost three-year conflict.
