Russia amassing tens of thousands of troops for Kursk offensive, Ukraine military chief says

Russia has prepared tens of thousands of troops for an offensive to retake the Russian region of Kursk, which Ukraine has held for months, according to Kyiv’s commander-in-chief, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Syrskyi said the threat of the Russian troops “cannot be underestimated,” warning they were prepared to mount an attack on Kursk.

“Now, following the order of their military leadership, they are trying to dislodge our troops and advance deep into the territory we control,” Syrski wrote in a post on Telegram, adding that Ukrainian forces were ready to deter any advance.

Russian forces have slowly been advancing on Ukraine’s positions in Kursk from several directions, aiming to recapture the roughly 500 square miles of territory that Ukrainian forces took when they began a surprise offensive in August.

But Russia has so far held back from a large-scale deployment, with Russian President Vladimir Putin vowing that the Kursk attack would not detract from Moscow’s efforts to seize territory in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine still holds much of the territory in Kursk, including the key city of Sudzha.

That calculus may have changed with the arrival of North Korean forces. The U.S. has said some 10,000 North Koreans are in Kursk, and Ukrainian officials have said that Ukraine’s forces have already fired at the new troops.

The New York Times reported that some 50,000 Russian and North Korean troops have amassed for a Kursk offensive and that they can press forward in the Russian territory without sacrificing efforts in eastern Ukraine.

Still, Russia may take heavy losses if they attempt to remove dug-in Ukrainian forces, who have held the territory for more than three months now.

The U.S. says that Russia has already suffered some 600,000 casualties since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and there were 1,200 casualties a day in September alone, the deadliest month yet.

It’s unclear how a major Kursk offensive will affect relations with the U.S. after the recent electoral victory of President-elect Trump, who has called for an end to the war, which could involve major concessions from Ukraine’s side.

The Washington Post reported over the weekend that Trump called Putin last week and asked him not to escalate the war, but the Kremlin denied the call.