'Everything is finished': Ukrainian troops relive retreat from Kursk

Ukrainian soldiers warring successful Russia's Kursk portion person described scenes "like a fearfulness movie" arsenic they retreated from the beforehand lines.

The BBC has received extended accounts from Ukrainian troops, who recount a "catastrophic" withdrawal successful the look of dense fire, and columns of subject instrumentality destroyed and changeless attacks from swarms of Russian drones.

The soldiers, who spoke implicit societal media, were fixed aliases to support their identity. Some gave accounts of a "collapse" arsenic Ukraine mislaid Sudzha, the largest municipality it held.

Ukrainian restrictions connected question to the beforehand person meant it is not imaginable to get a afloat representation of the situation. But this is however 5 Ukrainian soldiers described to america what had happened.

On 9 March, "Volodymyr" sent a telegram station to the BBC saying helium was inactive successful Sudzha, wherever determination was "panic and illness of the front".

Ukrainian troops "are trying to permission - columns of troops and equipment. Some of them are burned by Russian drones connected the road. It is intolerable to permission during the day."

Movement of men, logistics and instrumentality had been reliant connected 1 large way betwixt Sudzha and Ukraine's Sumy region.

Volodymyr said it was imaginable to question connected that roadworthy comparatively safely a period ago. By 9 March it was "all nether the occurrence power of the force - drones astir the clock. In 1 infinitesimal you tin spot 2 to 3 drones. That's a lot," helium said.

"We person each the logistics present connected 1 Sudzha-Sumy highway. And everyone knew that the [Russians] would effort to chopped it. But this again came arsenic a astonishment to our command."

At the clip of writing, conscionable earlier Russia retook Sudzha, Volodymyr said Ukrainian forces were being pressed from 3 sides.

By 11 March, Ukrainian forces were battling to forestall the roadworthy being cut, according to telegram messages from "Maksym".

"A fewer days ago, we received an bid to permission the defence lines successful an organised retreat," helium said, adding that Russia had amassed a important unit to retake the town, "including ample numbers of North Korean soldiers".

Military experts estimation Russia had amassed a unit of up to 70,000 troops to retake Kursk – including astir 12,000 North Koreans.

Russia had besides sent its champion drone units to the beforehand and had was utilizing kamikaze and first-person-view (FPV) variants to "take occurrence power of the main logistics routes".

They included drones linked to operators by fibre-optic wires - which are intolerable to jam with physics countermeasures.

Maksym said arsenic a effect "the force managed to destruct dozens of units of equipment", and that wrecks had "created congestion connected proviso routes".

The concern connected that day, 11 March, was described arsenic "catastrophic" by "Anton".

The 3rd worker spoken to by the BBC was serving successful the office for the Kursk front.

He excessively highlighted the harm caused by Russian FPV drones. "We utilized to person an vantage successful drones, present we bash not," helium said. He added that Russia had an vantage with much close aerial strikes and a greater fig of troops.

Anton said proviso routes had been cut. "Logistics nary longer enactment – organised deliveries of weapons, ammunition, nutrient and h2o are nary longer possible."

Anton said helium managed to permission Sudzha by foot, astatine nighttime – "We astir died respective times. Drones are successful the entity each the time."

The worker predicted Ukraine's full foothold successful Kursk would beryllium mislaid but that "from a subject constituent of view, the Kursk absorption has exhausted itself. There is nary constituent successful keeping it immoderate more".

Western officials estimation that Ukraine's Kursk violative progressive astir 12,000 troops. They were immoderate of their champion trained soldiers, equipped with western-supplied weapons including tanks and armoured vehicles.

Russian bloggers published videos showing immoderate of that instrumentality being destroyed oregon captured. On 13 March, Russia said the concern successful Kursk was "fully nether our control" and that Ukraine had "abandoned" overmuch of its materiel.

In societal media posts connected 11-12 March, a 4th solider, "Dmytro" likened the retreat from the beforehand to "a country from a fearfulness movie".

"The roads are littered with hundreds of destroyed cars, armoured vehicles and ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles). There are a batch of wounded and dead."

Vehicles were often hunted by aggregate drones, helium said.

He described his ain constrictive flight erstwhile the car helium was travelling successful got bogged down. He and his chap soldiers were trying to propulsion the conveyance escaped erstwhile they were targeted by different FPV drone.

It missed the vehicle, but injured 1 of his comrades. He said they had to fell successful a wood for 2 hours earlier they were rescued.

Dmytro said galore Ukrainians retreated connected ft with "guys walking 15km to 20km". The situation, helium said, had turned from "difficult and captious to catastrophic".

In a connection connected 14 March, Dmytro added: "Everything is finished successful the Kursk region... the cognition was not successful."

He estimated that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers had died since the archetypal crossing into Russia successful August.

A 5th worker sounded little gloomy astir the situation. On 13 March, "Artem" sent a telegram connection from a subject hospital, wherever helium was being treated for shrapnel wounds suffered successful a drone attack.

Artem said helium had been warring further westbound – adjacent the colony of Loknya wherever Ukrainian forces were putting up a stiff absorption and "fighting similar lions".

He believed the cognition had achieved immoderate success.

"It's important that truthful acold the Armed Forces of Ukraine person created this buffer zone, acknowledgment to which the Russians cannot participate Sumy," helium said.

Ukraine's apical general, Oleksandr Syrskyi, insists that Ukrainian forces person pulled backmost to "more favourable positions", stay successful Kursk and would bash truthful "for arsenic agelong arsenic it is expedient and necessary".

He said Russia had suffered much than 50,000 losses during the cognition - including those killed, injured oregon captured.

However, the concern present is precise antithetic to past August. Military analysts estimation two-thirds of the 1,000 sq/km gained astatine the outset person since been lost.

Any hopes that Ukraine would beryllium capable to commercialized Kursk territory for immoderate of its ain person importantly diminished.

Last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said helium believed the Kursk cognition had "accomplished its task" by forcing Russia to propulsion troops from the eastbound and relieve unit connected Pokrovsk.

But it is not yet wide astatine what cost.