Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russia is seeking to drive his forces out of Kursk region before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office next year but added that the military situation in the Donetsk region is the most critical for his country.
“I am certain that [Russian President Vladimir Putin] wants to push us out before January 20,” Zelenskiy told reporters, referring to the day of Trump’s inauguration. “It is very important for him to show that he controls the situation” in Kursk.
Ukraine stunned the Kremlin by sweeping into the Kursk region in August, seizing nearly 1,400 square kilometers of Russian territory. With Trump promising to end the war upon entering office, Moscow could be forced to exchange land it seized in Ukraine for Kursk territory should it fail to push Ukrainian forces out in time.
SEE ALSO: Peace Talks Brewing, Russia And Ukraine Jockey For Advantage -- On And Off The BattlefieldPutin has sent tens of thousands of Russian troops to Kursk who are mounting wave after wave of counterattacks, a source on Ukraine's General Staff said. Russia has regained about 800 square kilometers in Kursk or about 40 percent of the territory Ukraine seized, the source said.
Zelenskiy said that Russia is suffering losses in Kursk that he has not experienced to date. Russia was losing as many as 1,500 troops a day to injury and death last month, the most since the war began, Ukrainian and Western officials said.
“Russia hasn’t suffered such losses as it is now suffering in Kursk,” Zelenskiy said.
Russia has recruited more than 11,000 North Korean troops to help it take back Kursk territory. The North Korean troops reportedly arrived last month though it is unclear if they have taken part in fighting yet.
SEE ALSO: 'They're Totally Not Ready': Ex-Soldier Reveals Why North Korean Troops Will Struggle Against UkraineThe United States and the United Kingdom reportedly gave permission this week to Ukraine to strike inside Russia with ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles respectively. The missiles are precision, tactical weapons designed to hit command-and-control centers, logistics and arms depots near the front.
Ukraine has already used the missiles to strike in Kursk and the neighboring region of Belgorod.
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Meanwhile, Russian ground forces continue to make incremental advances in eastern Ukraine, including near the town of Velyka Novosilka, according to Deep State, an open-source organization with ties to the Ukrainian Army, and confirmed by other analysts.
Ukraine has been struggling to hold back the Russian advances due to a lack of manpower, raising concern about a possible breakthrough. While Russia is losing forces at a greater rate, the Kremlin is able to quickly replace them thanks to lucrative wages and incentives.
Putin on November 23 widened those incentives, signing a law permitting the cancellation of debt for new army recruits volunteering to fight in Ukraine.
The new law allows the state to forgive up to 10 million rubles ($95,835) of debt for those signing contracts with the Defense Ministry to fight in Ukraine for at least a year, beginning on December 1.
The law applies to all potential recruits who have had debt collection proceedings opened against them before December 1. The maximum debt forgiveness is several times the average annual salary in Russia’s provinces.
Valeriy Zaluzhniy, the former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, said in an interview published on November 23 that new technological advances will prevent a “serious breakthrough” at the front.
Ukraine and Russia have been rapidly developing reconnaissance and strike drones as well as electronic warfare weapons. The technology advancements have helped Ukraine partially compensate for its lack of manpower.
In the interview, Zaluzhniy said that Russia will struggle to expand the front line and break through because it would require huge resources "which the Russians no longer have."