Ukraine desperate to hold Kursk pocket until Trump takes office – BBC
Ukrainian troops fighting in Russia’s Kursk Region have been given orders to hold out until the new US president is sworn in, according to British state broadcaster the BBC.
Several brigades pushed into the border region in early August, aiming to reach a nuclear power plant, with teh objective of diverting Russian forces from the Donbass front, the Ukrainian military admitted to Western media.
Messages received by the BBC from Ukrainian soldiers via Telegram “paint a dismal picture of a battle they don’t properly understand and fear they might be losing,” the BBC said.
“The situation is getting worse every day,” a soldier told the UK state broadcaster in a text message, according to an article published on Monday.
The messages were “almost uniformly bleak,” according to the BBC. One soldier said defeat was “only a matter of time.”
“They speak of dire weather conditions and a chronic lack of sleep caused by Russia’s constant bombardment, which includes the use of terrifying, 3,000kg glide bombs,” the outlet noted. “They’re also in retreat.”
Some soldiers have argued that the original mission to divert Moscow’s resources had failed. Russian forces have made major advances in southern Donbass since early August. Either way, the current mission is to hold on until US President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in at the end of January.
“The main task facing us is to hold the maximum territory until Trump’s inauguration and the start of negotiations,” said one soldier, identified as Pavel. “In order to exchange it for something later. No-one knows what.”
About 40% of the territory in Kursk taken by the Ukrainian incursion has been retaken by Moscow's forces, the BBC said. One Ukrainian soldier, Vadim, said they were “struggling a bit” to hold positions.
Asked whether Western-provided long-range missiles that Vladimir Zelensky sought permission to launch deep inside Russia have helped the situation, the troops said they had not noticed.
“We don’t talk about missiles,” said a marine identified as Miroslav.
He compared the fighting to Krynki, where he fought previously. Hundreds of Ukrainian marines perished trying to take and hold the village on the left bank of the Dnieper, in an operation reportedly planned and pushed on Kiev by the UK.
“Good idea but bad implementation,” Miroslav said. “Media effect, but no military result.”
Kiev has claimed that up to 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been deployed to Kursk to help the Russians, but has produced no evidence of the alleged troop presence. Western capitals have cited this to justify the missile policy change. Ukrainian soldiers have been offered drones or extra leave if they bring in a Korean prisoner. They have yet to encounter any.
“It’s very difficult to find a Korean in the dark Kursk forest,” Pavel messaged the BBC. “Especially if he’s not here.”
Commanders in Kiev, however, insisted to the BBC that the Kursk incursion still had a purpose.
“This situation annoys [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” one officer said, on condition of anonymity.
