Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied by daily combat losses and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk.

“They are performing quite well,” Ukrainian war correspondent Andrii Tsaplienko said of the 47th Mechanized Brigade’s dozen or so surviving Abrams. Ukrainian crews have praised the M-1’s thick protection and accurate fire controls.

Ukraine said on Monday that North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian troops suffered heavy losses during fighting at the weekend in the Russian region of Kursk.

Moscow has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian forces battling to hold an enclave in Russia's Kursk region and increased pressure in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine's top army commander said on Tuesday.

Overall, the Russian forces have suffered over 775,000 personnel killed or wounded in over 1,000 days of fighting.

Kursk - it's a region some want to hold at all costs while others question the value of having gone in at all. Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders can’t evacuate the dead. Communication lags and poorly timed tactics have cost lives,

After a surprise offensive earlier this year, Ukraine’s forces have lost about half the territory seized in Russia’s Kursk region and may lose the rest in a matter of months, according to US officials,

KYIV: Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk, a region some want to hold at all costs, while others question the value of having ventured in at all.