But with those numbers on the Russian side, and given the battle space is inside Russian territory, it is only a matter of time before Kiev's Kursk adventure comes to a halt.
"They stormed with a battalion-sized force," an officer of a Ukrainian mechanized unit told CNN, adding that "the Russian invaders were eliminated."
There also remains deep concern that Russia is sending North Korean troops to help gain back control of occupied Kursk. CNN writes of some of the latest:
And while Russia has reclaimed some settlements, the line of control has barely changed over the past months.
A US official told CNN on Sunday that Russia has amassed a large force of tens of thousands — including recently arrived North Korean troops — to carry out an assault on the Ukrainian positions in Kursk. The official said the offensive was expected in the coming days.