Ukrainian paratroopers from the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade infiltrated Russian rear areas two days before an operation in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Colonel Pavlo Rozlach, commander of the 80th Separate Air Assault Galician Brigade, said in an interview with TSN.
According to the Commander, this allowed Ukrainian soldiers to disrupt communications and disorient Russian units.
Ukrainian forces started their offensive in Russia’s Kursk Oblast on 6 August, reportedly aiming to destabilize Russian defenses by forcing them to divert resources away from critical fronts in Ukraine.
“My unit, one of the companies, crossed the border two days before the operation. We hid in the forest, waiting for the start of actions,” Rozlach said.
The commander explained that the Ukrainian unit entered Russia in small groups of six people, hiding in the forest.
Rozlach’s company bypassed a checkpoint during the operation and struck a Russian strongpoint from the rear.
Ukrainian troops disrupted the Russian communication system. The commander said that this action helped disorient Russian forces.
Due to poor communication, Russian troops began firing at each other, “giving Ukrainian defenders an additional advantage.”
He described the mission as risky, saying that if the Russian troops had detected the company in time, the element of surprise would have been lost.
Ukrainian forces allegedly seized some 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles).
However, the Institute for the Study of War reports that Russian troops intensified counterattacks in the Kursk Oblast on 10-11 October to push Ukrainian forces out before deteriorating weather conditions.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Russia had deployed about 50,000 troops to the Kursk Oblast, weakening its positions on the front in Ukraine.
According to US officials’ estimates, Bloomberg reports that Ukraine may be able to hold territory in Russia’s Kursk Oblast for at least several months, if not longer.
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