The Times spoke with Ukrainian soldiers who participated in the first wave of the breakthrough of the Armed Forces of Ukraine into the Kursk region. According to the soldiers, they did not meet initial resistance from the Russian invaders.
Points of attention
- The battles for Kurshchyna became difficult only when the Russian special forces arrived.
- Some Ukrainian soldiers were preparing for the operation during exercises in Britain.
- There were also certain problems with weapons that hampered the advance of the Armed Forces.
How the breakthrough of the Armed Forces of Ukraine into Kurshchyna actually took place
Soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces recall that around 03:00 on August 6, they quickly crossed the border, expecting stiff resistance from the enemy, but this did not happen.
They were just kids...when they saw us, they immediately surrendered. They didn't even try to fight back, — says military medic Adam from Kherson, who was one of the first to break through to the Kursk region.
It is important to understand that the resistance began only on the fourth day after the start of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces.
During these days, Ukrainian soldiers managed to break through the city of Suja. They aimed to pass through the city, clearing every nook and cranny of it from the Russian invaders.
Fighters recall that the situation began to rapidly escalate on the second day of the sweep, when the Russian special forces arrived, because it was then that the fighting became very fierce.
On the third day, Adam's group was surrounded on all sides, and if not for the reinforcements that arrived, the fighter, most likely, would not have survived. Today he is recuperating in the hospital of the Sumy region.
How was the preparation for the Kursk operation
As the journalists managed to find out, a month before the breakthrough in the Kursk region, part of the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were sent to England.
It was there that they underwent several days of training together with British soldiers. The main direction of training is raids on high-rise buildings.
Preparations for the assault were shrouded in mystery. This not only caught Russia by surprise, but also came as a shock to many high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defense in Kyiv, — writes The Times.
In addition, Ukrainian soldiers complain that some of the rifles provided by the West repeatedly jammed, and there were not enough medical vans for quick evacuation.
