Russians Speak Of Nerves And Hope For Peace As They Shelter In Kursk

I don't understand what the point of this war is,

Ekaterina said

Maybe he got scared and crawled away to hide. He's probably dead,

said Ekaterina, 35, his daughter

I've got high blood pressure,

she says, putting her index finger to her forehead as if pointing to the worries that are weighing her down

The air raid alert is now over,

it said -- even though no initial air raid alert had been given

Planes were dropping bombs near my vegetable patch. I nearly died because of bombs, mortar fire and drones,

said 52-year-old Klimenko, a Russian sporting several gold teeth

We're really looking forward to peace, because we feel sorry for the Russian soldiers, the Ukrainian soldiers and everyone else,

she said

The end of the battle is coming,

Mr. Paroinen said in a phone interview

We continue to hold positions on the Kursk front,

said Boroda, the assault platoon commander

It was a mix of organized and chaotic retreat,

Boroda said

Many of them executed very smart tactical maneuvers,

said Boroda, the platoon commander

The Kursk operation is essentially over

Andrii, a Ukrainian intelligence officer fighting in Kursk, put it more bluntly ... he said

We could not allow expensive missiles to be fired at the wrong target,

Andrii explained

Their drones would land near key supply routes and wait for a target to pass by,

said Cap, a 36-year-old Special Operations Forces fighter who asked to be identified by his call sign