Zelensky says Russia has pulled 60,000 troops to Kursk Region

Russia has deployed 60,000 troops to the Kursk region in response to the success of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Kursk operation. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this in an interview with NBC News.

«One of the goals of the Kursk operation is to force their troops back to their own territory. Now I can share this—they have deployed about 60,000 troops there as of today. They pulled these forces from areas where we were struggling because we lacked sufficient weaponry», — the President of Ukraine said.

He added that, at one point, Ukraine was able to fire only one shell for every 12 Russian shells. However, after the withdrawal of some Russian troops from the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, the shelling ratio in certain areas improved to 1 to 3.

In the same interview, Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine’s lack of long-range weapons was a key factor behind the Kursk operation.

Earlier, on 27 August, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated that Russia had deployed 30,000 troops to the Kursk front. The number of occupiers was increasing daily.

Ukrainian Armed Forces Operation in the Kursk Region

The Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region began on 6 August. Ukraine remained silent on it for nearly a week. On 12 August, President Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi confirmed the operation.

It is now known that Ukraine controls about 100 settlements in the Kursk region and continues to make daily advances. Russia has redeployed approximately 30,000 troops from Ukraine to this area, while also pulling forces from locations it deems less strategically important. However, Russian troops have not been withdrawn from the Pokrovske direction.