Russia anticipated Kursk invasion months in advance, issued directives to boost morale of troops: Report

Amid the raging Russia-Ukraine war, a new report revealed that the Russian military command had already anticipated Ukraine’s Kursk invasion months before it actually took place. According to the cache of documents that the Ukrainian army said it had seized from abandoned positions in the region, the Russian troops were preparing to prevent the attack for months, The Guardian reported.

The document also revealed the Russian concerns about morale in the ranks in Kursk after the suicide of a soldier at the front. As per the document obtained by The Guardian, the Russian soldier who died by suicide was reportedly in a “prolonged state of depression due to his service in the Russian army”.

Following the incident, the unit commanders were given instructions to ensure soldiers consume Russian state media daily to maintain their “psychological condition”. The documents were seized by the Ukrainian special operations team, hours after they had left Russian territory.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

The team noted that they had taken documents issued by the Russian interior ministry, FSB, and army from buildings in the Kursk region. The earliest entries are dated late in 2022, while the most recent documents are from just six weeks before Ukraine launched its incursion into the Kursk region on 6 August.

Russia was anticipating the Kursk invasion

While the Kursk invasion took the world by surprise, the documents suggested that the Russian military issued warnings regarding the same for months. They claimed that the Ukrainian forces would attempt to occupy Sudzha, a town that houses 5,000 residents and ultimately came under Ukrainian occupation.

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

‘The cries of this widow will echo’: In first public remarks, Erika Kirk warns Charlie’s killers they’ve ‘unleashed a fire’

Trump urges Nato to back sanctions on Russia, calls for 50–100% tariffs on China

An entry from January 4 this year spoke of the “potential for a breakthrough at the state border” by Ukrainian armed groups and ordered increased training to prepare to repel any attack. In March, units at the Russian border were ordered to boost defensive lines and “organise additional exercises for the leadership of units and strongpoints regarding the proper organisation of defences” in anticipation of any Ukrainian attack, The Guardian reported.

The documents gave an insight into Russian tactics that were employed on the battlefield. “Models of tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery launchers should be created as well as mannequins of soldiers, and they should be periodically moved around,” reads one order.

“To prevent enemy infiltration into our combat formations … commanders are to implement the use of identification marker variant n6, made from materials 8cm wide, to be attached using invisible tape,” reads an order pushed in March. At that time, the Russians believed that there had been increasing incidents of Ukrainian sabotage groups disguising themselves for work behind Russian lines by wearing Russian uniforms.

The low morale of Russian troops

Another interesting aspect was the fact that the documents reflected the low morale of the Russian troops, including the mention of the suicide of a soldier. “The analysis of the current situation regarding suicides shows that the issue of servicemen dying as a result of suicidal incidents remains tense,” reads one entry. It recounts an incident that reportedly took place on 20 January this year.

The soldier reportedly entered the summer washing area at a guard post and shot himself in the abdomen. “The investigation into the incident determined that the cause of the suicide and death was a nervous and psychological breakdown, caused by his prolonged state of depression due to his service in the Russian army,” reads the handwritten report of the incident.

To prevent a repetition of the incident, the unit commanders were instructed to identify soldiers who “are mentally unprepared to fulfil their duties or prone to deviant behaviour, and organise their reassignment and transfer to military medical facilities”. Apart from this, the troops were also advised to be given 5-10 minutes a day as well as an hour once a week of political instruction, “aimed at maintaining and raising the political, moral and psychological condition of the personnel”.