Russian troops are digging trenches in the Kursk region as Ukrainian forces continue to capture more villages and prisoners of war.
OSINTtechnical satellite imagery revealed that trenches are being dug, this could suggest the amount of Russian territory Ukrainian forces will be allowed to occupy.
The trenches are currently under construction some 45 to 75 kilometres behind the Ukrainian border.
OSINTtechnical said this could mean that a decision by Moscow could mean troops will retreat back to the trenches and could “cede Ukraine a massive amount of territory.”
Ukraine has now captured 74 villages in the Kursk region as of Tuesday night, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
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The acting Kursk governor Alexey Smirnov said on Monday that Ukraine only have control of 28 villages, neither of these claims have been verified.
According to the Ukrainian centre for Defense Strategies, Kyiv has possibly more than 10,000 troops in Kursk, Russia’s Northern Grouping of Forces has around 4,000 that they are trying to move into position, Forbes reported.
It has also been reported that Ukrainian troops are also digging trenches which could mean, that they could be in the Kursk region for the long haul.
Russian forces are rapidly digging a network of trenches in Kursk Oblast, with only one catch:
The trenches are 45km behind the border.
Russian forces have been developing a trench network that, if fallen back to, would cede Ukraine a massive amount of territory. pic.twitter.com/dXje3n1qn8
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) August 14, 2024
Kyiv’s forces are fortifying their positions by building a network of trenches, according to a Russian military reporter Aleksandr Kharchenko on Sunday.
He added in an update that time is of the essence for Ukrainian forces to dig the trenches as this will then further complicate the battle for Russian troops to eliminate their enemy.
The Kyiv Post reported, “The worst thing that can happen is a transition to trench warfare in the Kursk region.
“Columns of armored vehicles stop appearing in the affected area. Ukrainians are increasingly attacking on foot. And for us this is an extremely bad sign.
“The enemy is beginning to gain a foothold in our ancestral territory. Yes, this is not a continuous defense in depth, but time is against us,” said Kharchenko, which was translated by Estonian analyst War Translated.
Forbes reported that on both sides of the new frontlines in the Kursk region, Ukrainian sources have seen industrial excavators.
“Once the enemy picks up shovels, in two days it will be just as difficult to take the forest stands as it was near Avdiivka” in eastern Ukraine, Kharchenko added.
