“We are holding back large reserves there" - SBU Colonel Kostenko on Kursk sector

He spoke about this on Espreso TV.

“According to our data, there are about 50,000, maybe already 60,000 Russian troops in the Kursk region. And if we leave there, they will all be in the Donetsk direction or enter the Sumy region. We understand this and are holding back large reserves there, which is why we are still there. However, the main situation is seen by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff, which is headed by the president, and all decisions will be made by the highest military command,” noted the SBU colonel.

According to Kostenko, if Ukrainian troops are withdrawn from the Kursk region, the Russian forces will enter the Sumy region and the fighting will be the same, but on the Ukrainian territory.

“We saw that the enemy was pulling out reserves, for example, an airborne division from the Zaporizhzhia direction to create a strike group in the northern direction. Therefore, our command must make a decision here, because it knows what forces, means and reserves are available to make appropriate decisions. We can express our opinions, but we do not make decisions and are not responsible for them. Therefore, we can only wish for the right, successful, well-grounded decisions with the least losses for us,” Kostenko summarized.

• Amid the Ukrainian Defense Forces' offensive in Russia's Kursk region, Russian attacks on the border areas of Ukraine's Sumy region have intensified.
• Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation refuted media reports that Ukrainian troops were ordered to hold the Kursk region until Donald Trump's inauguration.