The Russian military command had anticipated Ukraine’s invasion in the Kursk region and had been making plans to prevent it for several months.

The Guardian reported on this, citing documents captured by the Ukrainian military at Russian positions in the area.

In late August, the Guardian met the Ukrainian Special Operations team who seized them.

It is alleged that the papers belong to the Russian Interior Ministry, the FSB and the army and were seized during a raid by Ukrainian Special Forces on Russian territory. At the same time, the publication noted that it had been unable to independently verify the authenticity of the documents, but emphasized that they looked like genuine ones.

It is noted that these Russian documents contained months-long warnings of a possible offensive by Ukrainian troops, and also indicated concerns about the morale of the Russian military and the lack of personnel. On average, units were filled only 60-70% on average, and primarily made up of reserves with weak training. Depression among soldiers related to their service in the army was noted.

Some of the documents are printed orders sent to various units, while others are handwritten journals that record events and problems at specific positions of the Russian army. The earliest entries date from late 2023, while the most recent documents are from just six weeks before Ukraine launched its offensive against the Kursk region on August 6.

The documents mostly come from units of Russia’s 488th Guards Motorised Rifle Regiment, and in particular the second company of its 17th Battalion.

Warnings

It is noted that Russian military documents contained many months of warnings about a possible invasion of the Kursk region and an attempt to capture the city of Sudzha.

In particular, the possibility of a breakthrough of the Russian border by Ukraine was mentioned in a message of January 4. At the same time, Russian troops were ordered to step up preparations to repel a possible attack. In mid-March, Russian border units were ordered to strengthen their defenses.

And in mid-June, there was a more specific warning about Ukrainian plans “in the direction of Yunakivka-Sudzha, with the aim of taking control of Sudzha,” which eventually happened.

Preparation of Russians

It is noted that the documents also provided insight into Russian tactics over the past year. One of the orders stated that there had been no need to create false trenches and positions with models of tanks and soldiers to confuse Ukrainian reconnaissance drones.

It was also noted that several soldiers should had been sent to those positions to light fires at night, walk with torches and move layouts from time to time. In addition, the Russians were to conduct radio conversations about these positions in order to intercept them.