National Resistance Center: Russian strongholds in Kursk Oblast deserted

Russian military strongholds in Kursk Oblast are largely abandoned and only imitating defensive positions, the National Resistance Center reported on Sept. 23.

The Center said that local partisans shared the locations of Russian positions along the Sumy Oblast border with Ukrainian forces.

"The latest aerial reconnaissance data shows that almost all of the strongholds are deserted, with most of them overgrown with bushes," the Center reported.

The Center published photographs showing aerial views of the positions, which are reportedly meant to imitate actual defensive facilities.

On Aug. 20, the Center reported that the Russian government spent 10 billion rubles on the construction of the false fortifications.

According to the Center, the Russian strongholds have been abandoned because the majority of personnel have been transferred to front-line positions in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts.

On Sept. 18, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian troops at the front appeared to have incurred heavy losses due to Ukrainian counteroffensive advances.