Russia heavily attacking in Kursk Oblast for 3rd day, ‘actively’ using North Korean troops, Syrskyi says

Russian forces are carrying out an intensive offensive in Kursk Oblast for the third day in a row, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Dec. 17, as Ukrainian forces are on the defensive in the border region.

“For the third day, Russian forces have been conducting intensive offensive operations in Kursk Oblast, actively using North Korean units,” Syrskyi said in an online address to the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities held in Lviv, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

Russia reportedly deployed over 10,000 North Korean troops to help oust Ukrainian troops fighting in Kursk Oblast since early August.

“North Korean mercenaries have already suffered heavy losses,” Ukraine‘s commander said, adding that Kyiv’s troops are holding the defenses, destroying enemy personnel and equipment.

The Special Operation Forces said that they had killed 50 North Korean soldiers in Kursk Oblast in three days and injured 47 more. The full extent of North Korean losses is hard to ascertain, as President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia is trying to hide the casualties.

Despite the losses within Russian and North Korean ranks, the Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Kursk Oblast seem to be increasingly on the back foot, facing a Russian advantage in manpower and equipment.

Citing Ukrainian soldiers, The Economist wrote that Ukraine likely lost around half of the territory it had captured in the initial phase of the operation in August and September. An officer talking to the outlet connected this development to the redeployment of elite units that first spearheaded the offensive.

Ukraine likely seeks to hold on to a piece of Russian territory as a possible bargaining chip ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s expected push for peace negotiations.