Six months ago, the Kursk operation began: the General Staff assessed its significance
6 February 2025 11:28
For the first time in the 11 years of the war, combat operations were moved to the territory of Russia. Our troops continue to hold hundreds of square kilometers of the “buffer zone” in Russia. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reminded of this, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
They emphasize that the Kursk offensive was aimed at preventing a new enemy offensive in Sumy and Kharkiv regions. This operation still fulfills this function 6 months later.
The operation forced the Russian occupiers to transfer significant resources to the Kursk region, weakening their positions on other frontlines.
Russia was also forced to ask for help from North Korea, which sent 12,000 of its troops to the Kursk region. The total losses of the DPRK contingent amounted to about 4 thousand people. Of the three notional North Korean brigades, one was actually destroyed, and two lost their combat capability. Thus, the DPRK units have now been withdrawn from the front line.
Over the 6 months of active hostilities in the Kursk region, total Russian losses in manpower amounted to approximately 39,900 people, including about 16,100 killed.
Equipment lost by the enemy (as of February 5, 2025):
131 tanks,
689 armored combat vehicles,
386 artillery systems,
12 MLRS units,
12 air defense systems,
1 airplane,
3 helicopters,
931 unmanned aerial vehicles of operational and tactical level,
1164 units of automotive equipment,
34 units of special equipment.
During the operation, Ukrainian forces captured 909 Russian servicemen, significantly replenishing the exchange fund. This allowed hundreds of Ukrainian defenders who had been held in Russian prisons to return home.
According to the General Staff, the Kursk offensive remains an example of sudden asymmetric and successful actions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, which allow them to inflict significant losses on the superior enemy and seize the initiative on the battlefield.
Over the past day, in the operational area in Kursk region, Ukrainian Defense Forces units repelled nine attacks by Russian invaders. In addition, the enemy launched 54 air strikes, using 78 guided bombs, and fired 415 artillery shells at the positions of our troops and settlements, including 14 from multiple launch rocket systems.
