MOSCOW, March 17. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops in the Kharkov area are demoralized amid recent defeats, most notably in the Kursk Region, Vitaly Ganchev, head of the Kharkov Region military-civilian administration, told TASS.
"When Ukrainian soldiers are taken prisoner, they talk about hardships in the Ukrainian army. Troops on the battlefield are under pressure from their commanders and retreat-blocking units of nationalist battalions and can hardly speak up. Their morale is at rock bottom. The more so as they see defeats on the frontline, for instance, in the Kursk Region. It makes sense that the Ukrainian army would be demoralized," he said.
According to Ganchev, Ukrainian propaganda "is trying to magnify" frontline successes but soldiers on the engagement line see the actual state of things and have a different view about what is going on.
Ukraine launched a large-scale attack on Russia’s borderline Kursk Region on August 6, 2024. According to the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, over 86% of the area occupied by Ukrainian armed forces has since been liberated. Residents are being evacuated from the liberated city of Sudzha. In some areas along the border, the Russian army has already penetrated into the Sumy Region. The Russian defense ministry reports that the enemy has suffered over 68,000 troop losses since the onset of hostilities in the Kursk Region.