On Sunday, U.S. and Ukrainian officials told several media outlets, including New York Times or the chain ABC Newsthat Moscow had concentrated a large number of troops in the region to launch a full-scale assault. For the most part, analysts agree, these soldiers are new recruits, inexperienced and easily neutralized. But apparently they are already fighting in the region. about 3,000 of them 12,000 North Korean soldiers who are being moved to Russia as part of an agreement between the two countries, according to South Korean intelligence data which, of course, the Kremlin denies.
On Monday, hours after the figure was known, Zelensky confirmed in a Telegram message that his troops “They continued to brake” to the “enemy group of almost 50,000 soldiers” in Kursk, so far successfully. If Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to launch this attack to recover the conquered areas of Kursk, it is not a coincidence. The counter-offensive begins a few days after Republican Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election, determined to end the war “quickly”, even if it means ceding occupied Ukrainian territory to Russia.
For this reason, several analysts agree that both want to accumulate assets to negotiate. It is precisely for this reason that kyiv is trying to keep the Russian region with its best-equipped units (like the 47th Brigade) at the cost of lowering its guard on other points of the front line (like Donbass). ), while Moscow wants to recover Kursk, leave Kyiv without the possibility of negotiatingwhatever the price. And the truth is that everything indicates that the Russian army is indeed paying a very high price.
In the 24 hours before Monday, lost a total of 1,770 soldiersbetween dead and wounded, according to data from the Ukrainian General Staff. This is the highest number of casualties recorded in a single day since the start of the conflict more than two and a half years ago. Also, it’s not about anything specific, but British intelligence indicates that Russia recorded more casualties in October than in any other month since the invasion began. The numbers that Kyiv manages There are nearly 80,000 Russian soldiers dead and injured between September and October. And some of these victims were concentrated in Kursk, but not only.
Ukrainian servicemen take part in military exercises at a training ground in the Donetsk region.
The other two fronts: east and south
The arrival of North Korean soldiers allowed Russia to concentrate its forces in the west, without ceasing to exert pressure. on other fronts. This means that instead of relocating them, it has been able to keep its soldiers deployed in eastern Ukraine, in Donbass, which has become its main priority on the battlefield and where it has made the most progress in recent months.
In just the past few hours, the Ukrainians have been forced to send reinforcements to Kurákhov, their main stronghold in the country. oblast of Donetsk, surrounded to the south and north by enemy troops. There, collect it Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the situation is complicated and some reports speak of a possible Ukrainian withdrawal.
In fact, the head of the Russian occupation of the territory, Dmitry Pushilin, assured that fighting was already taking place in the city. “She is being released,” he told Kremlin television. Further progress has also been made in the field the neighboring town of Pokrovsk.
Far from focusing solely on regaining their own territory and continuing their modest advances in the east, Russian forces are now moving well-trained assault groups south into Ukraine’s province of Zaporozhye with the aim of launching a new offensive from there with armored and unarmored vehicles.
The Spanish
At least this is what the head of Ukraine’s southern command, Vladislav Voloshin, emphasized on public television, where he explained that what the occupying forces are seeking is to recover the lost areas near of Robotine (now back in Russian hands) two summers ago, during the Ukrainian counter-offensive south. “Attacks in the south of the Zaporizhia region could begin in the near future; we are not even talking about weeks. We are waiting for you at any time” Voloshin explained.
In this sense, in an interview with the press agency Efe, Ukrainian military expert Mikhailo Samus stressed that Russia is intensifying its offensive actions on the front. a very high price for victims gain as much ground as possible before Donald Trump arrives at the White House in January.
However, if Russia launches a simultaneous offensive in the east and south, Ukrainian forces will be forced to defend two active fronts simultaneously, while trying to preserve positions acquired in Russia’s Kursk region. Of course, we will have to see if Moscow is capable of maintaining over time their offensive with fewer and fewer soldiers.
