Russian Counteroffensive to Ukrainian Counteroffensive in Kursk

"We will hold." Everything is under control."

"The situation is serious, everything is being shelled, and the road on which supplies were brought is no longer usable. It's under fire."

"Drones are already everywhere in Sudzha. But we are in control. We are holding."

Ukrainian commander: call name 'Boxer'

 

"The longer they hold Kursk, the weaker Putin becomes."

"The longer they hold Kursk, the better defended Ukraine will be."

British Defence Secretary John Healey

Ukraine is fighting hard to repel the Russian invaders, but they are slowly making gains  Getty Images

 

The surprise move by Kyiv to have its military counteroffensive focus on the Kursk region inside Russia, relatively close to the border with Ukraine, saw the Ukrainian military tasked to that distracting mission, make inroads in a region with paltry few defences, pushing back the Russian defence forces, and managing to take a huge swath of Russian territory under Ukrainian command, taking possession of 100 villages, necessitating the movement of tens of thousands of Russian citizens departing their homes in favour of sheltering elsewhere.

This military gambit was a gamble, but its success buoyed Ukrainian spirits, while Kyiv waited to see if Moscow would redirect troops from the front lines to the Kursk region, giving some relief to the embattled Ukrainian city of  Pokrovsk, important to Ukraine as a logistics hub. Russian attacks have destroyed critical infrastructure, the city left without gas for cooking or heat, and potable water for the residents still remaining, some 18,000 in number including over 500 children.

Moscow did, after months of Ukrainian advances in the Kursk region, redeploy troops to the area, launching their counteroffensive to retrieve parts of Kursk region occupied by Ukrainian forces. Addressing the issue Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated the Russian "counteroffensive actions went according to our Ukrainian plan", declining to elaborate. There was, concurrently, an exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine where some of the 600 prisoners of war taken during the Kursk advance were returned to Russia.

 

Ukrainian troops are now at risk of encirclement on the front line near Pokrovsk  Reuters

 

Of the original 500 square miles within which were 100 settlements under Ukrainian military control, the new Russian counteroffensive has managed to retake a limited number. A report issued by the Institute for the Study of War reported evidence of some Russian advances, but the size, scale and outcome "are unclear and the situation remains fluid".

Back in Pokrovsk, some 20,000 residents have fled the oncoming Russian military with the final evacuation train. "Evacuation is the only ... choice for civilians", stated Donetsk regional Governor Vadym Filashkin. Near the Donetsk front lines two Red Cross vehicles prepared o distribute wood and coal to warm winter homes were hit by shelling, leaving three dead.

Civilians are fleeing the area as Russian forces approach  Getty Images