Russia has redeployed 50,000 troops to the Kursk region as part of efforts to push back Kyiv forces in the area, weakening Moscow’s military presence in Ukraine.
In September, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine announced that Russia had begun counter-offensive actions in the Kursk region to respond to the surprise cross-border incursion of the area launched by Kyiv on August 6.
In a documentary film shown by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne on October 10, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi said that 50,000 Russian troops had been transferred from other fronts, where they had been conducting offensive operations in Ukraine.
Ukrainian servicemen operate a Soviet-made T-72 tank in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on August 12, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On August 6, Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia which has resulted in Russian servicemen being redeployed to the Kursk region from other fronts.
ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images
“We know that about 50,000 troops from other areas have been redeployed to the Kursk front,” said Syrskyi.
The military leader claimed this move by the Russian Federation weakened the Russian military’s position on the battlefield, particularly the Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Kramatorsk fronts in Ukraine.
“This, of course, made it easier for us to conduct defensive operations,” said Syrskyi.
Newsweek has emailed the Russian Foreign and Defense Ministries for comment.
As part of the continued Kursk Oblast offensive, the Ukrainian army has remained on operations in the area.
According to American think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Ukrainian army continued operations in Glushkovsky Raion, west of the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast, on October 10 but did not make any significant advances.
The ISW also reports that Ukrainian forces continued operations near Lyubimovka, southeast of Korenevo, and Kamyshevka, east of Korenevo, but did not make any significant advances.
The ISW has released an updated map illustrating the extent of the Ukrainian advance into Kursk.
An ISW map showing Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast on October 10, 2024. Commander-in-Chief of the Ukraine armed forces Oleksandr Syrskyi has said Russia has redeployed 50,000 troops to the Kursk area.
Institute for the Study of War
Footage published on October 7 and confirmed through geolocation shows Russian forces recently made some marginal advances in eastern Obukhovka, which is located to the southeast of Korenevo.
Additionally, the Russian Ministry of Defence said that Pokrovskiy had been seized by unspecified Moscow forces.
However, the IWS could not confirm this with visual evidence.
The Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk Oblast region, beginning on August 6, appears to have taken the Russian Federation, as it did Ukraine’s allies, by surprise.
In the initial incursion, Ukrainian forces advanced up to 18 miles inside Russia.
This push has pushed Russia to increase its military presence in the Kursk area, Ukrainian officials have said.
In an address on October 6, Zelensky said “Today marks two months of our military actions in the Kursk region—a crucial phase of the war that has significantly contributed to our overall efforts. Ukrainians have shown that we can push the war into Russia.”
Zelensky also praised the Kursk offensive for making one of the “largest contributions” to Ukraine’s exchange fund which helps secure the “important” release of Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia.
On September 14, Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 103 prisoners in the third prisoner swap since the start of the Kursk offensive.
“We will continue to apply even more pressure on Russia because only through strength can we bring peace closer,” Zelensky said in conclusion.
