Ukraine’s raid into Kursk region foils Russia's offensive plans toward Zaporizhzhia - source

After Ukraine’s Armed Forces in August launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, Russia presumably called off the offensive on Zaporizhzhia as they were forced to transfer one of their most combat-ready units from southern Ukraine back to Russia.

That’s according to a high-ranking source in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

According to the interlocutor, the Russian command also pulled some units from Donetsk region, in particular, from the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove axes.

The source said that at the outset of the Kursk raid, Ukraine’s Armed Forces were opposed by 40,000 Russian soldiers before the Russian grouping increased to 59,000, with plans to expand to 60,000. Among the enemy forces is the 155th Marine Brigade of the Russian Pacific Fleet, notorious for committing atrocities against Ukrainian prisoners of war.

As reported earlier, the Ukrainian raid into Kursk region kicked off on August 6. On August 15, it was announced that a military commandant's office would be set up in the territories of Kursk region currently controlled by Ukraine’s Armed Forces.