Kieu Indifen reports Reuters report citing Chief of Staff sources
“Russia plans to advance to the border of Sumi and create a buffer zone.”
The Kiev Independent reported on the 24th, citing Reuters, that Ukraine lost more than 40% of the territory it had secured after advancing into Russia’s Kursk Oblast in early August.
According to the newspaper, Reuters, citing sources in the Ukrainian General Staff, reported that Ukraine used to control up to 1,376 square kilometers in Kursk Oblast, but now only about 800 square kilometers.
A Ukrainian military official said, “The occupied territory has become smaller, but we will maintain this territory militarily.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to reclaim territory lost to Ukraine in Kursk Oblast before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony on January 20 next year.
It is believed that this is an attempt to gain influence in the peace negotiations that Trump is trying to promote.
Currently, about 60,000 Russian troops are stationed in Kursk Oblast, and it is reported that they plan to advance to the Sumy Oblast border and create a buffer zone, just as Ukraine intended when it invaded Kursk Oblast.
Ukraine said about 11,000 North Korean troops took part in the counteroffensive at Kursk, and a Chief of Staff source noted that most North Korean troops had completed training with Russian forces.
While Russia continues its attempts to retake Kursk, it has also stepped up its attacks along its eastern front in recent weeks, the newspaper said.
(Seoul = Newsis)
Source: www.donga.com
