‘I had to do something extraordinary’: Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief reveals details of Kursk operation
Photo: Oleksandr Syrskyi (Getty Images)
For the first time, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, spoke in detail about one of Ukraine's boldest military operations - the offensive against Russia's Kursk region. According to him, it was an extraordinary decision, The Washington Post reports.
"We were heavily criticized because we were defending and retreating. I had to do something, let’s say, extraordinary," Syrskyi said.
It was an unexpected operation behind enemy lines - the Ukrainian incursion into the western Kursk region of Russia.
The plan was prepared by an extremely limited circle of commanders. The main objective was to force Russia to go on the defensive within its own territory.
According to Syrskyi, Ukrainian forces seized about 500 square miles in the Kursk region at the time, shocking both Moscow and Western allies.
Impact on the course of the war
The operation had a significant psychological impact: it boosted the morale of both the army and civilians, who had been losing faith in the possibility of a successful offensive.
Eventually, Russia pushed Ukrainian forces out of most of the territories they had captured in the Kursk region.
Now, Syrskyi says, the enemy is concentrating substantial forces in the eastern Donetsk region and, for the first time, is attempting to break into the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Syrskyi stated that during the operation in Kursk, at least 80,000 Russian troops were either killed or wounded.
At the same time, he declined to disclose Ukrainian losses but emphasized they were significantly lower than those of the Russian side.
North Korean troops
He noted that over the past year, about one-third of all guided aerial bombs used by Russia were dropped not on the territory of Ukraine, but in the Kursk region, where active hostilities were taking place.
Moreover, this was the region where the first units of North Korean troops were observed.
Syrskyi estimated their number at around 20,000. However, he clarified that these troops have not yet taken part in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine.
North Korea is fighting against Ukraine
We previously reported that CNN noted North Korea is planning to triple the number of its troops fighting alongside Russia against Ukraine by sending an additional 25,000 to 30,000 soldiers.
According to intelligence assessments, these troops could arrive in Russia in the coming months.
Russia has officially acknowledged the participation of North Korean military personnel in the war, and North Korea later confirmed this as well.
South Korean intelligence had also earlier reported that North Korea was preparing a new batch of soldiers for deployment to Russia.
