Russia masses troops for Kursk offensive; Putin-Trump call denied by Kremlin
Russia has massed “tens of thousands of troops” as part of a major effort to retake land in its Kursk region that was seized by Ukraine, according to the commander in chief of Kyiv's armed forces.
Russia has massed “tens of thousands of troops” as part of a major effort to retake land in its Kursk region that was seized by Ukraine, according to the commander in chief of Kyiv's armed forces.
Oleksandr Syrskyi said Monday that Russian forces were "trying to dislodge our troops and advance deep into the territory we control" in Kursk, where Ukraine's military has occupied swaths of territory since a surprise August incursion that turned the tables in the 2½-year war.
The push to retake territory comes as the two sides exchanged an intense wave of drone attacks that Ukraine said killed eight people, and after President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory, which could upend the U.S. approach to the war. The Kremlin on Monday denied that Trump had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine and its allies have warned a counteroffensive in Kursk was likely for weeks, and said that thousands of North Korean troops were among the force assembled by the Kremlin in Kursk.
“The importance of this operational area cannot be underestimated given the number of enemy troops concentrated there,” Syrskyi said in a post on Telegram, adding that soldiers were engaged in combat in the area. "If it were not for the steadfastness of our soldiers, these tens of thousands of enemies from the best Russian assault units would have stormed our positions" elsewhere on the front lines, he said.
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