Kursk, a Forbes Fiction by David Axe

Forbes' David Axe is a master storyteller. On Sunday, he expertly weaved a tale of spectacular Russian failure. 

 

If you believe him, the Russians have barely made any progress to expel a now 20,000-strong Ukrainian force from the Kursk Region. 

 

Even as the "under-supplied and poorly-led" Russian forces in and around Kursk are subject to a relentless campaign of precision deep strikes by Ukrainian air force bombers and Ukrainian army rocket batteries, respectively firing Storm Shadow cruise missiles and American-made ATACMS ballistic missiles. 

 

More so, when he claims that Kremlin has bolstered its roughly 50,000-strong corps in Kursk with thousands of North Koreans along with elements of two Russian airborne divisions, the 76th and 106th, plus the 83rd Air Assault Brigade and the rebuilt 155th Naval Infantry Brigade. According to another spinner of yarns, Ukrainian President [V]olodymyr [Z]elensky, there are as many as 11,000 North Korean troops there.  

 

Euronews, on the same day reported that Ukraine has lost ground in Kursk, with a senior Ukrainian military official saying over 40% of land seized has been lost. At the height of the incursion, Ukraine reportedly controlled up to 1,376 square kilometres, though sources in Kiev’s military say this has now decreased to 800 square kilometres. 

 

In fact, according to Russian military estimates, Ukrainian forces suffered extremely heavy losses since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk, which was launched on August 06, 2024. The latest figures show more than 35,510 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and wounded in the region, with more than 200 tanks, 149 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), 120 armored personnel carriers (APC), and nearly 1,200 other armored vehicles destroyed.

 

Across Donbas, active combat is raging at multiple locations, with the Russian military continuing their westward push to the south of the city of Pokrovsk (also known as Krasnoarmeysk), the last major settlement under Ukrainian control in the region.

 

Besides, many more outposts, e.g., Dalneye, Elizavetovka, Grigorovka (Leninskoye), Ilyinka, Kopanki, Makarovka, Novoselidovka, Novoalekseyevka, Novodmitrovka, and Yekaterinovka have been liberated.  And many more soon, I'm sure. 

 

The Washington DC, US-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War even admitted Russian forces have been advancing at a significantly quicker rate than they did in the entirety of 2023.