By Attacking Russia’s Kursk Region Kiev Weakens its Positions in East Ukraine — FT

The newspaper said that "Russian soldiers are still grinding their way through Ukrainian defenses, capturing villages and towns and bringing Moscow closer to its stated goal of complete control of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine"

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LONDON, August 20. /TASS/. Ukraine moving its "scarce resources" to Russia’s borderline Kursk Region helped Russian forces achieve success in Donbass, the Financial Times (FT) said citing an unnamed Ukrainian artillery brigade commander.

According to him, "troops were back to rationing shells" "because ammunition had been reallocated for the incursion into Russia’s Kursk region." Kiev has also moved there "upwards of 10,000 troops, including many of its elite airborne forces and mechanized brigades," from the Donetsk and Kharkov regions, "where the fiercest battles are under way, according to officials involved with the operation." According to the newspaper, "Russian soldiers are still grinding their way through Ukrainian defenses, capturing villages and towns and bringing Moscow closer to its stated goal of complete control of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine."

Several days before the attack on the Kursk Region, Ukrainian defenses in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), were already "showing cracks," one senior Ukrainian official "familiar with military operations" told the newspaper. In his opinion, Russian forces had achieved "tactical success" in Donetsk and more advances were likely unless the situation turned around.

"With much of its reserves directed to Kursk, Ukraine will struggle to fill defensive gaps and counter various Russian threats," Konrad Muzyka, director of Poland-based Rochan consulting group, told the FT. "Russia doesn’t have trouble mobilizing troops whereas Ukraine still has trouble mobilizing the number needed to hold and conduct operations in Donetsk," he explained.

A massive attack on the Kursk Region by the Ukrainian army was launched on August 6. A federal emergency situation regime has been declared in the region, as well as multiple air raid alerts. According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, more than 121,000 people have been relocated from nine borderline districts in the region. Over 10,000 evacuees have been housed at temporary accommodation centers. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, since the onset of military actions in the Kursk area, the Kiev regime has lost up to 3,800 troops and 54 tanks. The operation on clearing out Ukrainian armed formations continues.