Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believe Russian leader Vladimir Putin is deliberately exaggerating statistics on Ukrainian losses in Russia’s Kursk region to justify his army’s inability to retake the region.

Source: ISW

Details: ISW analysts noted that Putin has been exaggerating Russia’s progress in Kursk Oblast, likely in an attempt to reassure Russian audiences of the Russian military’s ability to “suppress” Ukraine’s invasion of the Russian region.

Analysts noted Putin’s statement to Russian media about the 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers allegedly surrounded in the region. However, as noted in the ISW report, the Russian Ministry of Defense has not publicly reported on the alleged “successful penetration of Russian troops into some Ukrainian positions in the Kursk Oblast.”

Putin also failed to recognize that the Ukrainian front line in the Kursk region extends from the international border between Ukraine and Russia, and that Ukrainian troops can freely cross border areas under Ukrainian control.

It was reported that according to the estimates of Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who denied Putin’s claims that Ukrainian troops were encircled, Russian troop losses since August 8 in Kursk Oblast amounted to 17,819 soldiers .

Although ISW cannot independently verify Ukrainian estimates of Russian casualties, Russian and Ukrainian reports indicate that Ukrainian troops continue to operate in Kursk Oblast.

Quote: “Putin’s exaggerated statistics on Ukrainian losses are likely part of his attempt to explain Russia’s inability to decisively repel the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast after nearly three months, in the context of the likely imminent deployment of North Korean troops to fight in this area. “

Background: On October 25, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said reports that Ukrainian troops were surrounded in Russia’s Kursk region were disinformation from the aggressor state.

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