2 September 2024. Today, there are a lot of updates from the Kursk direction.
Here, the Ukrainians gradually slowed down their offensive effort around Sudzha and Korenevo and consolidated their gains to increase offensive efforts to secure the western flank of their advance towards Glushkovo. During their offensive, despite desperate Russian resistance, Ukrainian forces swiftly destroyed Russian pontoon crossings on the Seym River, effectively trapping three thousand Russian soldiers in an operational encirclement.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky recently announced that Ukrainian forces have captured 1,294 square kilometers of the Kursk region, including 100 settlements. In the last four days alone, Ukrainian troops have secured an additional 44 square kilometers and taken 594 Russian soldiers prisoner.
While Ukrainian forces continue their offensive in the area, the Russians are deploying 30,000 reservists to reinforce their defenses in the Kursk region. This force could threaten the Ukrainian gains across Kursk. To counter this, the Ukrainians need to capture the town of Glushkovo and the surrounding area, as it could serve as a staging ground for a Russian counterattack once their reinforcements arrive.
The current length of the frontline in the Kursk region is approximately 120 kilometers for Ukrainian forces. Advancing toward the Seym River in the Glushkovo area would extend the front by an additional 20 kilometers. However, the Seym River would provide a strong defensive advantage for the Ukrainian forces. Securing these positions would allow the Ukrainian command to secure its western flank with fewer troops, as the river simplifies defense. Additionally, capturing the Glushkovo region would expand Ukrainian-controlled territory by over 600 square kilometers.
To pave the way for intensified offensive operations toward Glushkovo, the Ukrainian command ordered strikes on Russian pontoon bridges. As previously reported, the main traffic bridges across the Seym River were severely damaged and rendered unusable by Ukrainian JDAM strikes. This forced the Russians to set up pontoon bridges to maintain logistical support for the 3,000 soldiers in Glushkovo.
However, Ukrainian forces have established total fire control over these bridges using HIMARS and long-range artillery systems, severely hampering Russian efforts.
Ukrainian M142 HIMARS and air strikes on pontoon crossings and permanent bridges over the Seim River in Kursk Oblast
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) August 30, 2024
The attacks aim to disrupt Russian logistics in the 15*35 km area between the Seym and Ukrainian border.
📹via https://t.co/AsF863KiLX pic.twitter.com/V617F1iq34
Combat footage released by Ukrainian Special Forces shows them hunting down and destroying a Russian truck carrying sections of a pontoon bridge en route to the Seym River.
The Russians also attempted to conceal a convoy of four PPS-81 trucks transporting pontoon sections to the river, but they were detected by Ukrainian drone operators. The Ukrainian Special Forces then successfully destroyed all four engineering trucks with their bridge equipment on a road in the village of Budki. The original, uncensored combat footage of all operations can be found on Reporting From Ukraine’s Telegram channel.
Destroyed Russian convoy of bridge-laying equipment in Kursk Oblast
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) August 31, 2024
The column was recently struck en route to the Seym River near Zvannoe, where one of three destroyed bridges is located. Russian military engineers were rushing to establish a temporary crossing to improve… https://t.co/KAYDk3o8Y1 pic.twitter.com/HUMzgGpLxx
The combined efforts of Ukrainian drone and HIMARS operators successfully destroyed Russian pontoon bridges in Zvannoye and Karzyh, effectively cutting off all supplies to Russian forces in Glushkovo, located south of the Seym River. As a result, the Russian forces in this area are now deprived of access to ammunition, equipment, and reinforcements, severely diminishing their combat capability and preventing them from replacing their losses.
This allowed the Ukrainian command to initiate the second stage of offensive preparations toward Glushkovo, focusing on intense air strikes. Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29s and Su-27s deployed JDAM-guided bombs to destroy Russian fortifications along the front.
Combat footage from the area shows Ukrainian forces successfully targeting and destroying Russian positions in the border town of Krasnoktyabrsky. Additional videos reveal the destruction of a Russian supply depot in Muzhitsa and a dugout near Vnezapne. In the border town of Tyotkino, Ukrainians also utilized JDAMs to eliminate Russian firing positions and ammunition caches in high-rise buildings.
Until now, Ukrainian forces have not conducted a consistent series of air strikes against Tyotkino or Krasnoktyabrsky, suggesting these towns may be the new vectors of assault.
The primary reason for targeting these areas is that they are far less defended than other parts of the Kursk region.
The Russian command has not anticipated assaults from these border regions, which could give Ukrainian forces the element of surprise needed to accelerate their advance. Both Tyoykino and Krasnooktyabrsky are connected to Glushkovo by well-maintained asphalt roads, facilitating the rapid movement of Ukrainian mechanized units once the soft defenses at the border posts are bridged. A topographic analysis reveals that Krasnooktyabrsky is situated on high ground, while Glushkovo and the surrounding areas toward the river lie in the lowlands.
This elevation advantage will give Ukrainian forces fire control over the area, supporting their continued advance toward the river.
By advancing through Tyoykino and Krasnooktyabrsky, the Ukrainians could bypass the main Russian defense line stretching from Muzhitsa to Vnezapnoe. This maneuver would place the Russian forces defending Glushkovo in a semi-encirclement, leaving them with no viable option but to withdraw from the entire Glushkovo area.
Opening these new assault vectors would stretch Russian forces thin across both the border and the front, making the defense of Glushkovo increasingly untenable.
Overall, the Ukrainians managed to sever the supply roads of Russian forces in the Glushkovo area, cut them off, and inflict substantial losses with precision bombs and air strikes, while also preparing to open new vectors of assault. This series of strikes on Russian logistics and defense will effectively weaken the Russian positions, preparing the ground for new assaults across the border. The goal is to collapse Russian defenses from Glushkovo all the way to the Seym River.
In our regular frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
