Russia moves troops from its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad to the Kursk region.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas tells Zelensky in Kyiv that Russia has withdrawn some units from Kaliningrad to deter the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region.

During his conversation with President Zelensky, he expressed respect for Ukraine’s actions in the north and said that currently no one is saying that the “red lines” have been crossed.

In his opinion, the next good sign from partners would be permission to use long-range weapons: “We are lobbying for this. I am convinced that we should do this.”

“I say to the Lithuanian people: look at how Ukrainians are fighting for you, because due to their struggle, they need to withdraw their troops from Kaliningrad. We even call it the ‘demilitarization’ of Kaliningrad, which is happening thanks to the bravery of your military, thanks to your decisions,” Laurynas Kasčiūnas said.

For his part, Dmytro Lykhoviy, a spokesman for the Tavria operational-strategic group of the Ukrainian Army, reported on Espresso TV that Russian military units from southern Ukraine are also being sent to the Kursk region.

“It is confirmed that some Russian military units are being redeployed from the Prydniprovia sector and from the Zaporizhzhia region in general to the north,” he noted.

Redeployment of troops

The spokesman noted that the Russians have amassed a large number of military personnel in the south, and the number of military units they are redeploying is relatively small to speak of any weakening or removal of the barrier to continue the offensive in the southern direction.

In a commentary to Politico, Lykhoviy added that Russians are transferring military units to the Kursk region not only from the Zaporizhzhia region but also from the Kherson region.

The day before, The Economist wrote, citing the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, that some military units from the Kharkiv sector were also transferred to the Kursk region, but from the key Donbas direction, Russia redeployed much fewer forces to the Kursk region than Ukraine would have liked.

“Their commanders are not idiots. They are moving troops, but not as fast as we would like. They know that we cannot stretch the logistics for 80 or 100 kilometers,” the source said.

As previously reported, hundreds of Russian soldiers have already surrendered during the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ operation in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.