According to several Ukrainian military sources who spoke to ABC News, up to 50,000 Russian and North Korean soldiers are getting ready to launch a fresh counteroffensive to drive Ukrainian forces from their positions in the western Kursk area of Russia.
Since Ukrainian forces captured a portion of the border region in a bold August offensive. This is the first time Kyiv’s forces have taken and held substantial Russian territory. Since the full-scale invasion started in 2022—Moscow has been attempting to drive Ukrainian forces out of Kursk.
According to Kyiv military officials who spoke to ABC News. The anticipated counteroffensive aims to reclaim territory that Ukrainian forces have held in Kursk since August.
According to Pentagon spokeswoman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, 10,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to Kursk last week.
At a briefing, Ryder told reporters, “We’ll see exactly how Russian operations integrate these forces and how they commit to the battlefield, assuming they replace Russian forces.”
“Should these troops engage in combat support operations against Ukraine, they would become legitimate military targets,” Ryder stated.
Kyiv has used the Kursk operation to strengthen its bargaining position, put political pressure on the Kremlin, and refill its “exchange fund” of seized Russian servicemen. As President-elect Donald Trump has said, resuming peace negotiations might give Kyiv significant negotiating leverage over occupied areas of Kursk.
During the Kursk operation last month. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that it was “a very important phase of the war,”. He also added that Ukrainians “have proven that they can push the war into Russia.”
In a Monday Telegram message, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy, Ukraine’s senior commander, stated that the Kursk operations area’s significance “cannot be underestimated given the number of enemy troops concentrated there.”
“These tens of thousands of enemies from the best Russian shock units would have stormed our positions. Especially in the Pokrovsky, Kurakhiv, or Toretsk. It would have significantly worsened the situation at the front, if it were not for the steadfastness of our soldiers,”. He continued, alluding to areas of fierce fighting on the eastern front.
They are now attempting to drive our forces out and move further into the area we control. As directed by their military leadership,” Syrskiy stated. “Our task in this direction is to deter and destroy the enemy on his land.”
Moscow’s troops have been reporting steady success and the capture of villages in eastern Ukraine. Advancing the battle line westward, despite Ukraine’s Kursk operation.
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