Ukraine Withdrew from the Kursk Region: What Happened on the Battlefield

The fog of uncertainty that hung over the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region is gradually disappearing and dissipating. It is already clearly visible through it that the vast majority of narratives promoted by the Russian Federation about the encirclement of our military in the city of Sudscha and the extremely large losses of Ukraine in both people and equipment in this operation are false. In addition, the statements about the extremely difficult and almost hopeless situation of our military in this region are false.

However, it is worth noting that the uncertainty that prevailed regarding this topic does not pass without a trace. It must be said that it seems that now it has already settled in the head of the newly elected President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, who several times in a row claimed about the significant encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region and that the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine remained alive thanks to him.

If earlier the fact of the encirclement of the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was denied by all Ukrainian official and unofficial sources, including the military observer Yurii Butusov, who is opposed to the government, now this thesis has been refuted by the political leaders of the Russian Federation themselves. In particular, it should be mentioned that the military blogger from the Russin Federation Vladimir Romanov wrote in his Telegram channel that there is no encirclement of Ukrainian troops, and the newly elected President of the United States of America Donald Trump simply wants to increase his authority on the socio-political world stage through such statements.

Having studied all of the above, as well as the rather negative publications of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and a British daily national newspaper called The Times about the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the Kursk region, the military columnist ZN.UA decided to personally compile a picture of the events that occurred in that region during this time. It is worth emphasizing the fact that for this idea of ​​his he managed to talk to representatives of three different military units that participated in the battles in the Kursk region.

In addition, for the sake of objectivity and integrity of the picture, one cannot fail to mention the beginning of the operation in August last year, when the Armed Forces of Ukraine completely disoriented the Russian troops, managed to break into the enemy's territory to operational depth and captured about 500 enemy soldiers. Then, thanks to the well-thought-out and decisive plan of the first military breakthrough and the decisive and cold-blooded actions of the 33rd and 225th separate assault battalions, it was possible to gain a strategic advantage, which truly shocked the command of the Russian Federation.

However, it is worth noting that, unfortunately, over time, the situation and the stable position of the military Armed Forces of Ukraine changed. Thus, it is worth noting that after establishing a stable front line along the perimeter of the operational zone, the Russian Armed Forces began massive and mechanized assaults involving marine brigades and special forces. In addition, later, North Korean military personnel and some of the best First-person view (FPV) battalions from all that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have were involved in such devastating and powerful assaults. It is worth emphasizing the fact that it was very difficult to maintain a stable front line under this pressure, but the Ukrainian forces managed to do it. In addition, it must be said that at that time there were even limited counterattacks to occupy previously lost positions that had previously been conquered by the enemy armed forces.

The withdrawal of our armed forces began to be considered by the command only after successful attacks by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation along the state border. Namely, we are talking about successful attacks by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation north of the Ukrainian village of Novenke and south of the Russian village of Guyevo. After all, it was this development of the situation that allowed the enemy armed forces to take full fire control of the only logistical route of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the Kursk region through the settlement of Yunakivka.

The commander of the crew of the Stryker armored personnel carrier (APC) of the 80th brigade of the Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in an anonymous comment to ZN.UA called the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Kursk region “organized and well-thought-out,” but at the same time, commenting on this topic, he also noted that he could not make a similar statement about the adjacent brigades that were supposed to leave the Kursk region at about the same time. “We left at night, without light, our brigade left the Kursk region only in the dark. We did this because at no point in daylight was it possible to do this safely, because the entire airspace around the city of Sudscha and even in villages already on the territory of Ukraine were controlled by drones of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on fiber optics. Our armored personnel carriers (APCs) are equipped with protection against them, but it does not always work. That is why the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Kursk region was carried out exclusively at night and with strict observance of all safety standards. But even taking this into account, there were cases of armored personnel carriers (APCs) being hit by night First-person view (FPV) units,” says military officer Andrii. It is worth mentioning that our military personnel recognize that the enemy's accumulation of drones on fiber optics in the last weeks of the defense of the Kursk bridgehead has become simply incredible and enormous in scale. In addition, it is important to say that this evidence coincides with the data of Western Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) analysts, who were able to geolocate the presence of the three best First-person view (FPV) units of the Russian Armed Forces in this direction: “Judgment Day”, “Sudoplatovtsy” and “Moses’ Detachment”. Thus, the enemy invested all available resources to worsen the logistics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as to make it impossible to rotate and evacuate the wounded military soldiers. Unfortunately, this approach to conducting military operations has had an unfavorable result for the armed forces of our country.

When asked whether our Armed Forces’ successful control of the Kursk region depended on receiving intelligence from the United States of America, military officer Andrii says that the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Defense Forces from the area of ​​the villages of Mala Loknya, Ruske Porichne and Cherkaske Porichne began even before Ukraine stopped receiving military intelligence data on these combat areas, so these circumstances are not at all connected. Military officer Andrii emphasizes the fact that the main reason for the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Kursk region was the narrow strip of control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, which the Russian Armed Forces were constantly dropping guided (corrected) aerial bombs (CAB) and shelling with artillery. In addition, military officer Andrii also emphasizes the fact that another important reason for the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Defense Forces from the Kursk region is the fact that the military situation there developed in such a way that our military was being stormed by North Korean special forces units from several sides.

It is worth noting that the so-called military operation involving the now-inoperative gas pipeline also had a significant impact on the course of the Kursk operation in its final stage, during which the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation tried to get into the rear of the Ukrainian troops through the gas pipeline near the city of Sudscha. In addition, there is also a testimony from one military officer regarding the development of combat events that took place during the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Kursk region. Thus, the machine gunner of the 82nd Brigade of the Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ASV), Oleksii, who directly participated in repelling this attack, confirms the success achieved by the Ukrainian forces, who were able to detect the enemy in time and strike them with artillery and drones. The fact is emphasized that such an approach to conducting military operations made it possible for our Armed Forces of Ukraine to prevent the enemy from advancing further into the territory for some time. However, this did not prevent the enemy troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from later penetrating the rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and reaching the outskirts of the city of Sudscha. Another military soldier of the 82nd brigade says that this maneuver of the enemy was the reason why his brigade was forced to destroy part of the available equipment and withdraw from the eastern flank to the city of Sudscha itself, while completely losing contact with part of the military military personnel in the forward positions.

In general, it is worth noting the fact that the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Kursk region was accompanied by constant rearguard battles in various parts of the Kursk bridgehead. It must be said that some of these battles, unfortunately, ended in favour of the enemy Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In particular, on March 7-8, that is, in the first days of the withdrawal of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, fierce fighting broke out on the northern flank of the salient, where the enemy Armed Forces of the Russian Federation used an incredibly large number of guided (adjusted) aviation bombs (CAB) and artillery simultaneously. In addition, it is noted that the enemy Armed Forces of the Russian Federation blew up two bridges and tried to break through to the city of Sudscha. It is worth emphasizing the fact that at the first attempt this plan of the enemy Armed Forces of the Russian Federation failed, but later the defense of the Ukrainian armed units, which were already preparing to withdraw from the Kursk region and were actually cut off from the main forces, was broken. In addition, there is another military report on the development of military events that occurred during the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Kursk region. Thus, the Marine of the 36th Marine Brigade Maksym says that his own departure from the Kursk region to the territory of Ukraine began with the order of the company commander, who took responsibility and made the decision on his own, because the order from the higher military command never came.

“We walked for almost two days through fields and various forest belts, constantly hiding from drones, of which there were a lot in the sky, and were afraid that we would not get out of this dangerous and terrible situation that had developed in the Kursk region. Several of my comrades did not survive, because they met with hostile First-person view (FPV) units of the enemy Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In addition, it must be said that we tried to leave the Kursk region mainly at night to have a better chance of survival, but some decided to leave the Kursk region even during the day, and this was a fatal decision,” he says.

Thus, having studied various testimonies of the military, we can conclude that in general the withdrawal was organized and planned, however, there are cases when orders to withdraw from military positions came too late, and this forced lower-level commanders to take the initiative into their own hands.

So, it is worth saying that at the moment it is quite difficult to say that Ukraine has supposedly not achieved the goals that were set in the Kursk operation, since its true initial strategic goals have not yet been made public, and it must be said that they are unlikely to ever be made public. However, remembering the fact that the most combat-ready units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were transferred here and at the same time there was a massive loss of territories near Pokrovsk, which occurred in the fall of 2024, suggests that not everything planned was implemented.

The success of the military operation in the Kursk region can be judged in particular by the recent comment by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the main goal of the operation in the Kursk region was precisely “to draw away the troops of the Russian Federation from other parts of the front.”. So, such a military strategy of conducting combat operations made it possible to distract of the enemy Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from other military targets in our country. Thus, if we talk about this military operation only with the help of facts, we can summarize the following: at the moment, the loss of more than 600 units of armored vehicles of the Defense Forces of Ukraine during the operation in the Kursk region has been visually verified and confirmed (excluding pickup trucks and other types of trucks). It is worth noting that at the moment, among the losses of our Armed Forces of Ukraine are 62 tanks, 211 armored personnel carriers (APCs), which are used for transporting servicemen and many military units (rifles, infantrymen) and their materiel to the place of performance of the combat mission. It is also reported that our Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost many units of the BMP-1, which is a Soviet tracked amphibious infantry fighting vehicle. In addition, it is also reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost 242 mine-resistant and mine-ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPV). It should also be mentioned that during the same time, the enemy’s losses amounted to about 700 units of armored vehicles. Thus, it is noted that among the losses of the enemy Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, almost 400 armored personnel carriers (APS) for transporting military personnel and BMP1 which are floating infantry fighting vehicles. These types of military vehicles are designed to transport personnel to the place of performance of the combat mission. In addition, it is reported that the enemy troops of the enemy Armed Forces of the Russian Federation also lost 70 tanks.

Such a ratio of losses is, without exaggeration, catastrophic for the Defense Forces of Ukraine, because usually the losses of the enemy Armed Forces of the Russian Federation exceed the Ukrainian ones by 2.5–3 times. In addition, taking into account the fact that Ukraine carried out assaults only a few times during the entire period of the operation, and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation tried to attack with armored vehicles for more than five months, the ratio of lost equipment becomes even more negative. It is assumed that this trend in military operations can be partly explained by the enemy's unprecedented use of fiber-optic drones, the round-the-clock bombardment of the front line with Guided (corrected) aerial bombs (CABs) and shelling with large-caliber artillery. However, it is worth emphasizing the fact that we will be able to see the real result of the operation in the Kursk region only in a few weeks to a few months, when the enemy Armed Forces of the Russian Federation will transfer units from this direction to the Donetsk, Kharkiv or Zaporizhia regions or launch massive attacks on the territory of the Sumy region. It is worth noting the fact that it is during this time that it will become objectively clear whether the enemy can quickly restore its potential and use the released forces in new assaults against the Armed Forces of Ukraine to seize new territories in our country. A separate question arises, namely, what will happen next with the North Korean military forces, what fate awaits them? The fact is that there are very few options for their future fate. At the same time, we should not forget that most of the withdrawn Ukrainian military units from the Kursk region were able to maintain combat capability and have good and promising opportunities to join the defense of what are now truly priority and important areas for conducting military battles.