Five months after their shock offensive against Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied and demoralized by the growing risk of defeat in Kursk, a region that some want to hold on to at all costs while others question the value of entering.
The battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders are unable to evacuate the dead. Communications delays and poorly timed tactics have cost lives, and troops have few ways to fight back, seven soldiers and front-line commanders said. The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so they could discuss sensitive operations.
Since being caught off guard by the lightning bolt Ukrainian incursion, Russia has amassed more than 50,000 troops in the region, including some from its ally North Korea. Precise figures are difficult to come by, but Moscow's counterattack has killed and wounded thousands of people and the overwhelmed Ukrainians have lost more than 40 percent of the 984 square kilometers of Kursk they seized in August.
Its full-scale invasion three years ago left Russia with a fifth of Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hinted that he hopes 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 that betting on Kursk will weaken the entire 1,000-kilometer front line and that Ukraine is losing precious ground in the east.
“We have hit, as they say, into a hornet's nest. We have caused another flashpoint,” said Stepan Lutsiv, major of the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade.
The border assault that became an occupation
Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has said Ukraine launched the operation because officials thought Russia was about to launch a new attack on northeastern Ukraine.
It began on August 5 with an order to abandon the Sumy region of Ukraine for what they thought would be a nine-day raid to stun the enemy. It became an occupation that Ukrainians welcomed as their smaller country gained influence and embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Gathering his men, a company commander told them: “We are making history; “Everyone will know about us because this hasn’t been done since World War II.”
Privately, he was less sure.
“It seemed crazy,” he said. “I didn't understand why.”
Surprised by the success achieved largely because the Russians were taken by surprise, the Ukrainians were ordered to advance beyond the original mission to the city of Korenevo, 25 kilometers into Russia. That was one of the first places where Russian troops counterattacked.
In early November, the Russians began to rapidly regain territory. Once amazed by what they achieved, the troops' opinions are now changing as they come to terms with the losses. The company commander said that half of his troops were dead or wounded.
Some front-line commanders said conditions are difficult, morale is low and troops are questioning command decisions, including the very purpose of occupying Kursk.
Another commander said some orders his men have received do not reflect reality due to communication delays. Delays occur especially when Russian troops lose territory, he said.
“They don't understand where our side is, where the enemy is, what is under our control and what is not,” he said. “They don't understand the operational situation, so we act at our own discretion.”
One platoon commander said his superiors have repeatedly rejected his requests to change his unit's defensive position because he knows his men cannot hold the line.
“Those people who resist to the end end up missing,” he said. He said he also knows of at least 20 Ukrainian soldiers whose bodies had been abandoned over the past four months because the battles were too intense to evacuate them without more casualties.
No option to withdraw as Russia doubles down
Ukrainian soldiers said they were unprepared for the aggressive Russian response in Kursk and could not counterattack or withdraw.
“There is no other option. We will fight here because if we simply return to our borders, they will not stop; They will continue to advance,” said the commander of a drone unit.
The General Staff of Ukraine said The Associated Press in a written response to questions that Ukrainian combat units are inflicting losses on Russian military personnel and equipment on a daily basis, and are receiving “everything necessary” to carry out combat tasks.
“Troops are managed in accordance with situational awareness and operational information, taking into account the operational situation in the areas where tasks are carried out,” the response said.
Long-range American weapons have slowed the Russian advance and North Korean soldiers who joined the fighting last month are easy targets for drones and artillery because they lack combat discipline and often move in large groups in open spaces, Ukrainian troops said.
On Monday, Zelenskyy said 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded. But they appear to be learning from their mistakes, the soldiers added, as they become more adept at camouflaging themselves near wooded lines.
Last week a clash took place near the Vorontsovo area, a forested area between the settlements of Kremenne and Vorontsovo.
Until last week, the area was under Ukrainian control. This week, Russian forces have lost part of it and Ukrainian troops fear reaching a crucial logistics route.
Looking at losses on the front lines in the eastern region known as Donbas, where Russia is closing in on a crucial supply hub, some soldiers are more explicit about whether Kursk has been worth it.
“The only thing the military can think now is that Donbas has simply been sold,” the platoon commander said. “At what price?”
