An early morning Russian attack in the Kursk region did not reach direct fire with the enemy. But it signaled Russia's intensified efforts to regain territory. Five Russian soldiers were killed or injured in a drone strike early Sunday morning when they tried to sneak in.
Oleksandr, commander of the 225th Assault Battalion, was sitting in a cafe describing the fighting in Sumy, Ukraine. He said, I think, the number of Russian people never ends. They send one group after another again and again, but almost no one comes back alive. And the next day again a new team comes. As if they don't know the outcome of the previous team.
Oleksandr and his two comrades were deafened by the continuous firing. They provide a rare picture of Ukraine's defense of its position in the Kursk region over the past four months.
While the Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region last August was a strategic success, it has been criticized for facilitating Russian advances in the Donbas region due to the extra manpower and weaponry used. But supporters say the Kursk operation gave Kiev important leverage for future peace talks.
Oleksandr said, “It is not yet clear what our intention is.” Maybe we just have to pass the time from here. But if our aim is to hold the territory, we are ready to do that.
Oleksandr demanded that Western countries fulfill their commitments in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. He said, you have taken our nuclear weapons. Instead, he promised security. Keep that word. We are dying, and you are playing with your own interests. Give whatever is needed to end the war.
Oleksandr said recent Russian attacks in the Kursk region had failed. But Ukrainian officials have acknowledged that Russia has already recaptured 40 percent of the territory it captured in late summer.
His unit did not leave the frontline for eight months and fought fiercely in places like Bakhmut, Avdivka, Chasiv Yar. Russian forces included trained paratroopers, disorganized Chechen fighters and African mercenaries. However, he did not find any concrete evidence about the presence of 12,000 North Korean troops claimed by the Pentagon.
Three weeks earlier his unit had repulsed an attack by 40 armored vehicles and 300 Russian troops. Drone commander 'Javascript' said, we have killed around 50 Russian soldiers.
Source: CNN
