Russian defense officials say their military has recaptured three small towns in the Kursk region, in what Ukraine is calling a major push to push its troops out of Russia before the start of a presidential US Donald Trump in office in the new year.
On Wednesday, Russia said it had recaptured two towns – Daryino and Plyokhovo – which are close to 800 square kilometers a region of Russia that has been under Ukrainian control since a surprise attack in August. On Thursday, they reported retaking a third town, Novivanovka.
“They were ordered to liberate the Kursk region by the first of January … using all means,” said Vitallii, 35, a Ukrainian soldier who spoke to CBC News by phone on Wednesday.
Vitallii, given his first name, said he and other soldiers apparently learned about the timeline from Russian prisoners of war who were captured and later interrogated in a city basement. Sudzha, which Ukraine took full control of on August 15.
Soldiers interviewed for this story will not use their full names in compliance with Ukrainian military restrictions. Some have chosen to go with their call signs.
Press before you start
Vitallii said that despite losing ground on the side recently, the overall situation in Kursk is relatively stable. He said Ukrainian troops had been ordered to hold the line against a reported wave of 60,000 Russian troops, along with thousands of North Korean troops.
Almost three weeks ago, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he was sure that Putin wanted “push us out by January 20,” the day Trump takes office.
The US president has again promised to quickly end the war in Ukraine.
More than half a dozen soldiers stationed in Kursk told CBC News that they understand the pressure to negotiate is growing, but they can't imagine how the two sides could reach an agreement. – let alone one that would last beyond a temporary respite.
“I don't see any possibility that the Russians are tuning into some kind of peace. They are doing well now and this dynamic will, unfortunately, continue.,” said Vitaliy, who spoke to CBC News from an undisclosed location in the Sumy region. He was resting after being sent to the Kursk region since September.
Every soldier CBC News spoke to said morale was relatively good in Kursk, despite the lack of equipment and the excess of soldiers.
Spirits appearing elsewhere
Elsewhere, however, the situation is worse, said a soldier with a Ukrainian territorial defense unit who asked only to be identified by his call sign. Bryn.
A few weeks ago, while on break from his deployment to Kursk, Bryn visited his 26-year-old son who is on the front line in the Donetsk region near the city Kurakhhovewhere Russia is fighting to gain full control.
In the southeast, he said, units are losing men and land like Russia continues to proceed towards the strategically important logistics Pokrovsk hub.
“The soldiers are not feeling well, they are tired and losing strength,” said Bryn in a telephone interview with CBC News.
“The main problem is people. We're losing a lot of people there.”
In a rare confession, Zelensky said on December 8 that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since Russia's full-scale war began on February 24, 2022. Another 370,000 were wounded.
Western officials estimate that up to 800,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in the same period. Ukrainian defense officials report in November alone, more than 1,500 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded every day.
Bryn said that when he and his unit were previously deployed to Donetsk, there was a “pack your bags” mentality. Troops were constantly on the move because of Russian advances, he said.
Be careful about compromise
He said that is not the case in Kursk, where he is part of a team tasked with trying to blow up Shahed drones when they hit a target.
Bryn said he spent his days camping out in buildings or in trenches, watching the sky and listening. When drones are seen, he often jumps in a vehicle and races out with others to try and take them down.
He believes that the new year will bring more clarity on how Trump just sees promoting peace. Even though he thinks negotiations are likely at this point, he doesn't want them.
“I would like victory … but I fear that many in civilian life will want negotiations,” he said.
“When you talk to civilians, sometimes they seem more tired than (soldiers).”
Another soldier, who goes by the call sign Historic, told CBC News that if the war ends with Russia keeping the Ukrainian territory it seized, he can't imagine staying in the country. He would try to move his wife and young children abroad, he said.
“Why did our brothers die if, in a negotiation process, we give Putin everything he asked for? he said in an interview on Zoom with CBC News.
“I want this war to end with the fact that we will return all our territories, although this is not the case now through military means.”
Russia has already expelled Ukraine from more than 40 percent of the land was captured at Kursk in August.
None of the soldiers CBC spoke to said they have seen any evidence of soldiers sent by North Korea to aid Russia's efforts. But they all said that Ukraine is protected and Russian attacks seem to be more frequent now.
Failed to move '
An army officer from Lviv, with the call sign Saigon, said that they face daily attacks from Russian units, which send in eight armored vehicles at the same time with up to 10 men in each. The sound of drones overhead is almost constant.
Saigon said he believes Ukraine's decision to send troops to Russia was worthwhile because it pulled large forces away from the southeast and slowed the advance there.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian movement initiative “has failed,” he said.
At checkpoints, he has seen middle-aged men with chronic diseases. To him, that means they can't fight as effectively.
“We need a lot of young and motivated people,” he said.
Earlier this month, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced Reuters that Ukraine must draft young men and lower the conscription age, currently set at 25.
Ukraine has no plans to lower the draft age further, and has responded to claims from Western officials by saying the country needs more weapons to equip its existing troops.
The Saigon colleague, who goes by the call sign Google, spoke to CBC News during the same Zoom call. He thought that Ukrainians might be more willing to enlist if offered the same relatively lucrative signing bonuses than Russian regions has started giving.
He said that it is expected that Russia will try to take back all of Kursk, noting that this would give them a sense of strength heading into any peace talks.
“But what kind of negotiations we can talk about now, I don't know,” he said.
“Our leaders may have other plans but we will do our job.”
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