Jonathan Beale & Anastasia Levchenko
BBC News
Getty Images
Ukrainian soldiers comfort their comrades during the battle at Kursk
Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the Kursk region of Russia describe scenes “like a horror film” as they retreat from the frontline.
The BBC has received extensive accounts from the Ukrainian military. The Ukrainian forces speak of a “devastating” withdrawal in the face of a fierce fire, with military equipment pillars being destroyed and constant attacks from a pack of Russian drones.
Soldiers who spoke on social media were given aliases to protect their identities. Some have explained the “collapse” as Ukraine lost Suda, the biggest town it had.
Ukrainian restrictions on travelling to the front desk mean that we can’t get a full picture of the situation. But this is how five Ukrainian soldiers explained to us what happened.
volodymyr: “Drone Around the Clock”
On March 9, “volodymyr” sent a telegram post to the BBC saying he was in Sudzha where “panic and front collapse” was occurring.
The Ukrainian army is “about to leave – the military and pillars of equipment. Some of them are burned by Russian drones on the road. It is impossible to leave during the day.”
The movement of men, logistics and equipment relied on one major route between Suda and the Sumi region of Ukraine.
Volodymyr said a month ago it was possible to travel the road relatively safely. By March 9th, “It’s all under enemy fires – 24-hour drones. You can see two or three drones in a minute. That’s a lot,” he said.
“We have all the logistics on one Sudzha-Sumy Highway here. And everyone knew it. [Russians] I’ll try to cut it. But this was once again a surprise at our order. ”
At the time of writing, just before Russia took over Suda, Volodymia said the Ukrainian army was under pressure from three sides.
Maksym: Vehicle destruction is scattered across the road
By March 11, the Ukrainian troops were fighting to prevent road cuts, according to a Telegram message from “Maksym.”
“A few days ago we received an order to leave a line of defense for an organized retreat,” he said, adding that Russia “has gathered important forces to seize the town, including many North Korean soldiers.”
Military experts estimate that Russia has gathered up troops of up to 70,000 to seize Kursk, including around 12,000 North Korea.
Russia also sent the best drone units to the front, using “Main Logistics Route Fire Control” using Kamikaze and First Person Viewing (FPV) variants.
They included drones linked to operators with fiber rays. This is not possible to jam electronically.
Maksym said that the enemy “was able to destroy dozens of equipment,” and that the wreck “caused congestion on supply routes.”
EPA
The Ukrainian army moved towards the Kursk region on the Smie supply route last August. By March this year, their retreats were in full swing.
Anton: The Retreat Catastrophe
The situation on that day, March 11th, was described as “devastating” by Anton.
The third soldier spoken by the BBC was at the headquarters of the Kursk Front.
He also highlighted the damage caused by Russian FPV drones. “We had an advantage with drones, but now it’s not,” he said. He added that Russia has had a more accurate air strike and more military advantage.
Anton said the supply routes had been cut off. “Logistics are no longer working. Organized delivery of weapons, ammunition, food and water is no longer possible.”
Anton said he could leave on foot in the evening.
The soldiers predicted that Ukraine’s overall foothold in Kursk would be lost, but “from a military perspective, Kursk’s direction has exhausted itself. There is no point in maintaining it.”
Western officials estimate that the attack on Kursk in Ukraine is involved in a troop of around 12,000 people. They were some of their best trained soldiers with weapons provided in the West, including tanks and armored vehicles.
The Russian blogger has released a video showing that some of the equipment has been destroyed or captured. On March 13, Russia said the situation in Kursk was “fully under our control” and that Ukraine had “abandoned” much of its material.
BBC Verify: What does Putin’s video tell you about the battle of Kursk?
dmytro: from the dead in.
In a social media post from March 11-12, the fourth solider, “Dmytro,” compared the retreat to a “horror movie scene” head on.
“The roads are scattered with hundreds of destroyed cars, armored vehicles, ATVs (all terrain vehicles). There are a lot of injuries and deaths.”
Vehicles were often hunted by multiple drones, he said.
When the car he was traveling was stuck, he described his own narrow escape. He and his fellow soldiers were trying to push the vehicle freely as they targeted another FPV drone.
It missed the car, but injured one of his companions. He said they had to hide in the woods for two hours before they could be rescued.
Dmytro said many Ukrainians retreated on foot with “people walking 15-20km.” The situation has changed from “difficult, critical and devastating,” he said.
In a message on March 14th, Dmytro added: “Everything ended in the Kursk region… the operation was not successful.”
He estimated that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since their first crossing into Russia in August.
Reuters
Russian soldier identified with red tape on his arm walks through the destroyed building of Rokunya
ARTEM: “We fought like a lion.”
The fifth soldier did not sound dark about the situation. On March 13th, Artem sent a telegram message from a military hospital where he was being treated for a rap shotgun wound that he had taken in a drone attack.
Artem said he was fighting further west – near the village of Roknya, where Ukrainian forces were in fierce resistance and “fighting like a lion.”
He believed the operation had some success.
“It’s important so far that Ukrainian troops have created this buffer zone, thanks to the inability of Russians to enter Smie,” he said.
Getty
After fighting in August, a damaged statue of Lenin stands in Sudaza
What is the attack on Ukraine now?
Oleksandr Silsky, the top Ukrainian general, argues that the Ukrainian army will be pulled back to a “more advantageous position” and stay in Kursk, and “as long as it is convenient and necessary.”
He said Russia suffered more than 50,000 losses during the surgery — including those killed, wounded and captured.
However, the situation is very different from last August. Military analysts estimate that two-thirds of the 1,000 square/km that they first acquired have been lost.
Hope that Ukraine could exchange Kursk’s territory for a portion of it has been significantly reduced.
Last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believes Operation Kursk has “achieved its mission” by forcing Russia to draw troops from the east and ease pressure on Pokrovsk.
But that is not clear at what cost yet.
