Putin 'suffering 1,000 daily casualties' from Kursk ‘humiliation'

The Russian premier slated the attack as a “major provocation”, whilst Volodymyr Zelensky hailed it as a “boomerang for evil” in a statement marking Ukraine’s Independence Day.

A Western official, who has asked to remain anonymous, has spoken about the constant supply of casualties since the incursion earlier this month.

“Russia is losing more now than it is able to recruit,” they said, adding that Moscow was unlikely to be able to up its recruitment drive to counter the loss of life.

More than 120,000 people have been evacuated from Kursk since August 6, Kremlin officials have claimed, and a federal emergency has been declared in the region.

Putin has claimed the incursion is an attempt by Kyiv to stop Moscow's offensive in the Donbas region. However, a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman argued the operation was mainly aimed at protecting the ex-Soviet state from long-range strikes launched from Kursk.

US National Security Advisor John Bolton has labelled the operation as a “humiliation” for both the Kremlin and Putin, stating that the Russian state is continuing to feed its soldiers into a “woodchipper”.

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Speaking at a webinar organised by the Foreign Press Association, Bolton said: “You think Russia can't get worse in its military performance, and it does what.

“What happened in this invasion into Russian territory is that the Ukrainians obviously saw a weak point, or a series of weak points, and took full advantage of it.”

Responding to a question asked by The Daily Express, Bolton explained: "The Ukrainians noticed their positions were undermanned because the troops had been shifted to the Donbas, and in very short order, they pushed the Russians out of all their positions in northern Ukraine that they had taken in the aftermath of the initial invasion.

“The effect on the Russian military, I think, has been very detrimental. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said probably two years ago now, that Putin was feeding his army into a wood chipper, and that's what they've continued to do.”

He said that the losses prove that Russia has failed in its 20-year goal to produce a modern army.

The Kursk incursion is the first time that Russia has been successfully invaded since World War Two.

The two countries are set to exchange prisoners in a broker arranged by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It will be the first of its kind since the incursion and the seventh since the war started in February 2022.