ISW analysts report that a battalion from the Pskov 76th Airborne Division was recently transferred to the Kursk region from the front line in the Zaporizhia region.
According to Ukrainian military analyst Konstantin Mashovts, Russia has already assembled about 50,000 troops in the Northern Group: more than 31,000 in the Belgorod region, more than 10,000 in the Kursk region, and more than 8,000 in the Bryansk region.
According to Mashovts, the Russian units disembark at stations in the Kursk region for the purpose of camouflage and then go to the Belgorod region, closer to Kharkiv.
Many observers say the Russians have recently stepped up strikes against Kharkiv and the northeastern areas in general, as well as aerial reconnaissance in the region.
“ISW still believes that the Russian army does not have sufficient forces to capture the city, but Russian offensive operations against Kharkiv or Sumy would draw back and tie up Ukrainian units from other, more important parts of the front,” write analysts of the US institute.
