Russia has moved 60,000 military personnel to the Kursk region in response to the Armed Forces of Ukraine offensive, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with NBC News.
He said that one of Ukraine’s offensive goals was to draw Russian troops into the area.
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According to Zelensky, this tactic has been somewhat successful, as Russian forces have been relocated from other regions where the Ukrainian army struggles to maintain defense.
However, Russian troop numbers in the Pokrovsk sector have not decreased, he said.
On Aug. 27, Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrsky said that around 30,000 Russian soldiers had already been transferred to the Kursk region, with the number continuing to rise.
However, Syrsky also said that the situation in Pokrovsk sector remains challenging. Russian forces continue their offensive operations there, utilizing assault infantry units alongside artillery and air support.
“The enemy is advancing at a high price. We are doing everything possible to stabilize the situation,” Syrsky said.
On Aug. 6, Ukraine launched a new offensive into Russia’s less-fortified Kursk region, which took Moscow by surprise, with Russian conscripts being thrust into the fight in its attempt to contain the offensive.
The Kremlin responded by declaring a “counter-terrorist operation” in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions.
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Ukrainian officials said on Aug. 14 that the operation’s goal is to create a “buffer zone” to prevent Russian shelling of Ukraine.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian president, said the Kursk operation is part of Ukraine’s efforts to coerce Russia into negotiations.
Zelensky has stated that Ukraine plans to hold the occupied territories in the Kursk region but does not intend to annex them, calling it part of a broader "plan for victory."
US officials estimate that Russia would need 50,000 to 60,000 troops to retake the areas captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region, The New York Times reported.
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