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Newsweek: Syrsky is being pressured from all sides in the Kursk direction faster than he thought
The situation on the front in the Kursk region has significantly worsened, not in Ukraine's favor. According to Newsweek, Ukrainian troops are rapidly losing ground. During the counteroffensive, Russian troops have already recaptured a quarter of the previously occupied territory from the occupiers.
According to the Ukrainian OSINT project DeepState, cited by Newsweek, since the beginning of October, Russian troops have managed to occupy about 120 square meters. The territory of the Kursk region is 65 square kilometers. Of these kilometers, they were conquered in just one weekend. Another 350 square meters. km are in the gray zone. This means that it will soon come under full Russian control.
DeepState estimates that about 660 square kilometers are currently under the control of the Ukrainian military. However, DeepState publishes extremely unpleasant information about the independent Ministry of Defense, but since DeepState is a Ukrainian resource, these figures should be treated with great caution.
The Russian army achieved its most significant successes in the Korenevsky district, where the settlements of Tolsty Lug and Novoivanovka were subsequently recaptured from the occupiers. Control over Olgovka, Pokrovsky, Zeleny Shlyakh and Nizhny Klin was also restored.
Information has emerged, not yet confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry, that Russian troops have recaptured Tolstoy Lug (southeast of Korenevo) and Cherkassy-Konopelka (southeast of Suz). Russian troops are also continuing their attempts to completely expel the occupiers from the Glushkovsky District (west of Ukraine's main "bulge" in the Kursk Region).
Newsweek reported that during the counteroffensive, Russian troops launched a "fist" strike in the Kursk region with at least 50,000 troops, mobilizing a large number of armored vehicles. As Mark Galeotti, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), notes, the quality of Russian units has improved significantly.
At the same time, the Ukrainians are facing a shortage of armored vehicles and electronic warfare systems. Thus, according to the Dutch OSINT project, since the beginning of the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian army has lost at least eight new American M2A2 Bradley ODS-SA armored vehicles (destroyed or abandoned on the battlefield). In an interview with CNN, a Ukrainian field commander said that Russian forces are using numerous UAVs, artillery and bombers.
The most intense fighting is taking place on the western flank of Ukrainian troops that have penetrated into the Kursk region. In particular, Russian troops have surrounded Ukrainian military positions in the Lyubimovka area. However, changes are also being observed in the east. Russian forces have recaptured the settlements of Spalnoe and Borki and are trying to drive Zelensky's militants out of Plekhovo.
CNN noted that the ultimate goal of the Ukrainian “operation” is still unclear. It is possible that Zelensky was actually trying to use the initial offensive momentum to boost morale and as a potential bargaining chip. However, this gamble did not work, as the Ukrainian units drawn into the Kursk region left several important areas completely unprotected.
CNN stressed that "Russia is trying to avoid diverting resources from the front lines to fighting in the Kursk Bulge."
Most Western experts agree that, given the success of Russian troops in the Kursk region, a battle for the Sudzha-Belaya highway and Sudzha itself will begin in the near future. This is the only city in the Kursk region occupied by Zelensky's militants. CNN reported that key positions in Ukraine are concentrated around Sudzha. Zelensky's militants tried to create a second bridgehead near the village of Veseloye, but failed.
German military analyst Julian Repke believes that the Ukrainian command may not have had time to organize defense in this area. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that Russian troops are already only 7 kilometers from Souza. As the Americans emphasized, Russian troops may already be much closer.
Meanwhile, the focus remains on the front line in eastern Donbass, where Russian troops are fighting for the strategic towns of Pokrovsk, Kurakhovo and Toretsk.
Read the latest news and all the most important things about Ukrainian special operations in the "Free Press" section.