Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Russia’s Kursk region have described scenes “like a horror movie” as they retreated from the front lines.
Ukrainian troops, recount a “catastrophic” withdrawal in the face of heavy fire, and columns of military equipment destroyed and constant attacks from swarms of Russian drones.
Most Ukrainian Soldiers give accounts of a “collapse” as Ukraine lost Sudzha, the largest town it held. Ukrainian restrictions on travel to the front have meant it is not possible to get a full picture of the situation. But Ukrainian soldiers describe what is happening in Kursk.
Ukrainian troops “are trying to leave, columns of troops and equipment. Some of them are burned by Russian drones on the road. It is impossible to leave during the day.”
Movement of men, logistics and equipment had been reliant on one major route between Sudzha and Ukraine’s Sumy region.
Soldiers who made it out say “it was possible to travel on that road relatively safely a month ago. By 9 March it was all under the fire control of the enemy – drones around the clock. In one minute you can see two to three drones. That’s a lot,”.
“We have all the logistics on one Sudzha- Sumy highway. And everyone knew that the [Russians] would try to cut it. But this again came as a surprise to our command.”
Ukrainian forces were battling to prevent the road being cut, “A few days ago, we received an order to leave the defence lines in an organised retreat,” a soldier said adding that Russia had amassed a significant force to retake the town, “including large numbers of North Korean soldiers”.
Military experts estimate Russia had amassed a force of up to 70,000 troops to retake Kursk – including about 12,000 North Koreans.
Russia did sent its best drone units to the front and was using kamikaze and first-person-view (FPV) variants to take fire control of the main logistics routes.
They included drones linked to operators by fibre-optic wires – which are impossible to jam with electronic counter-measures.
Another soldier said “the enemy (Russians managed to destroy dozens of units of equipment”, and that wrecks had “created congestion on supply routes.
Logistics no longer work – organised deliveries of weapons, ammunition, food and water are no longer possible. We almost died several times. Drones are in the sky all the time.”
Western officials estimate that Ukraine’s Kursk offensive involved about 12,000 troops. They were some of their best-trained soldiers, equipped with Western-supplied weapons including tanks and armoured vehicles.
Bottom line- Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers killed and rest ran out at night after destroying their equipment.
