The sinking Motion_directional of the nuclear-powered `` Kursk '' ( Russian : ) took place Process_start during the first major Russian naval exercise in more than ten years , in the Barents Sea on 12 August 2000 , killing Killing all 118 personnel on board .

The official investigation Scrutiny , after most of the wreck was raised Cause_change_of_position_on_a_scale along with analysis of pieces of debris , concluded that the crew of Kursk was preparing GetReady to load Placing a dummy 65–76 `` Kit '' torpedo when a faulty weld in its casing leaked Motion high-test peroxide ( HTP ) , causing Causation the torpedo 's kerosene fuel to explode Bodily_harm .

) , near Borki station in the former Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire ( present-day Kharkiv Oblast of Ukraine ) , 295 kilometers south of Kursk , when the imperial train carrying Sending Tsar Alexander III of Russia and his family from Crimea to Saint Petersburg derailed Motion at high speed .

Despite these victories , the Soviets themselves became Becoming over extended , setting up the stages for the German offensives of the Third Battle of Kharkov and the Battle of Kursk .

With the battles in the south near Kharkov and , later , Kursk using Using reinforcements for both sides , the frontline near Leningrad stabilised Cause_change_of_strength until July 1943 .

The German leader , Adolf Hitler , `` canceled Change_event_time a major offensive Attack at Kursk after only a week , in part to divert Motion forces to Italy '' , resulting in Causation a reduction Cause_change_of_position_on_a_scale of German strength on the Eastern Front .