US says Russia has moved thousands of troops from occupied territories to Kursk Oblast

Russian soldiers in Kursk Oblast. Stock photo: 80th Air Assault Brigade

Russia appears to have deployed several thousand troops from occupied Ukrainian territories to Kursk Oblast in response to the advancing Ukrainian offensive.

Source: CNN, citing two US military officials; European Pravda

Details: US officials are currently assessing the exact number of Russian troops being relocated. The sources say Russia has moved several brigades of at least 1,000 troops each to Kursk.

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“It is apparent to us that Mr Putin and the Russian military are diverting some resources, some units, towards the Kursk Oblast to ostensibly counter what the Ukrainians are doing,” John Kirby, White House National Security Communications Advisor, said in an interview with CNN on Thursday, 15 August.

The movement of Russian forces out of Ukraine “doesn’t mean that Mr Putin has given up military operations in the northeast part of Ukraine or even down towards the south, towards places like Zaporizhzhia. There’s still active fighting along that front,” Kirby said.

Two other sources familiar with Western intelligence indicated that Russia does not appear to be moving its larger and better-trained units from Ukraine to Kursk Oblast.

According to one source, Russia seems to be strengthening Kursk’s defences primarily with untrained conscripts brought in from other regions of the country.

“We haven’t seen a substantial move [of Russian troops] just yet, and we can’t tell whether that’s just because they’re only just getting started moving forces, or whether they just don’t have the forces to move,” said one source familiar with US intelligence.

A senior US military official indicated that, alongside the troops redeployed from Ukraine, Russia has also dispatched personnel from the Leningrad Military District and Kaliningrad.

Some officials have raised concerns that by sending some of its most experienced forces to Kursk Oblast, Ukraine might have inadvertently created vulnerabilities on its own front lines, something Russia could exploit to gain more territory inside Ukraine.

Background: 

• On 14 August, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that Russia had redeployed some of its forces from Ukraine to Kursk Oblast.
• Reuters noted that the United States has so far regarded Ukraine’s unexpected incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast as a defensive manoeuvre, enabling Kyiv to utilise US-supplied equipment. However, there is concern about potential complications as Ukrainian troops advance further into Russian territory.

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