Russia puts up a stronger fight at Kursk, well-equipped troops: Ukraine

“And we’re paying a price,” he told the Journal.

The commander’s units were among the first to arrive in Kursk earlier this month, according to the outlet.

They are now dug into cellars north of the city of Sudzha, deploying reconnaissance and strike drones to aid Ukrainian forces in their advance, the statement said.

“We want to bring the war to their territory,” the commander told the Journal.

Since launching a surprise attack on Russia’s Kursk region on August 6, Ukraine says its forces have occupied more than 480 square miles of Russian territory and pushed deeper into Russia.

Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces were 22 miles in Russia.

The incursion caught Russia off guard, which struggled to respond quickly and effectively to the attack, partly because complex military structures and lack of contingency plans.

Earlier this week, the Journal reported that a Russian general disbanded a group tasked with protecting Kursk’s borders months before Ukraine’s surprise incursion — citing an unnamed official in Russia’s security services — leaving the border region vulnerable.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continued its offensive, destroying at least two bridges in Kursk and destroying pontoon bridges before they could be built.

However, Ukraine’s operations have slowed this week, with soldiers making only “marginal” advances on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said.

Cold told the Journal that Russia has redeployed well-equipped forces to the region, some with substantial combat experience.

From drone feeds, he said he could see some Russian troops building up and setting up defensive positions along a newly drawn front line, anticipating a protracted conflict.

American officials CNN said Last week, Russia appeared to divert thousands of troops from Ukraine to Kursk.

It remains unclear how many troops Russia is redeploying to Kursk from the main 600-mile front line in eastern Ukraine.

IN A update On Sunday, the Institute for the Study of War said that Russia’s redeployment from Ukraine to Kursk could weaken Russia’s ability to sustain offensive operations on the main front.

However, according to government sources close to the Russian Presidential Administration, Kursk may not be the Kremlin’s priority right now.

The sources told the independent Russian publication Meduza that the Kremlin is using propaganda to persuade the Russians to agree to hold off retaking Kursk until after an “inevitable” Ukrainian defeat in eastern Ukraine.

Because of the scale of the conflict, neither Russia nor Ukraine can win the war with a single decisive campaign, the Institute for the Study of War said on Sunday.