Frontline report: Ukrainian marines survive heroic last stand during withdrawal from Kursk’s Lyubimovka

Today, the biggest developments come from the Kursk direction in Russia.

Amid intensifying Russian counterattacks, Russian forces escalated their efforts by launching large pincer maneuvers designed to encircle and eliminate cut-off Ukrainian positions.

In a swift and calculated response, Ukrainian forces launched devastating drone strikes on advancing Russian units and deployed elite marines for cover, setting the stage for the decisive battle.

Russian spearhead operations and Ukrainian withdrawals

As you know, as part of their counteroffensive, Russians launched a spearhead attack along the hardened road between Korenevo and Sudzha, whereupon Ukrainians pulled back from several exterior positions to avoid complete encirclement. Russians continued to launch armored assaults over the highway however, trying to consolidate their gains and maintain control over the crucial supply line. As there were no other roads leading into the Ukrainian-controlled town of Olgovka, this put Ukrainian soldiers here in an increasingly precarious position and largely cut off from supplies and reinforcements. Ukrainian soldiers here were also under threat of Russian assaults from all sides, as Russians controlled all hardened roads leading into the settlement.

As Ukrainians continue to prioritize the survival of their men, keeping a mentality of living to fight another day, Ukrainian commanders ordered the immediate withdrawal of their forces from Olgovka. Similarly, the Russian spearhead had reached an important intersection between Novoivanovka and Lyubimovka.

This also caused Ukrainian soldiers defending Lyubimovka to lose access to their main supply road. The Russians knew this and decided to press their advantage, as Russian soldiers in Lyubimovka started actively assaulting Ukrainian positions to increase the pressure. As you know, Ukrainians launched frontal attacks on Novoivanovka and had reclaimed most of the settlement from the Russians.

Still, Russians continued to launch armored assaults over the highway to Sudzha, preventing Ukrainians from re-establishing control over the intersection, and ground lines of communication with the soldiers stuck in Lyubimovka.

Challenges from Russian assaults and Ukrainian drone tactics

Russians also moved in several armored vehicles from the west, trying to deploy groups of infantry to pin down Ukrainians in the settlement, preventing them from breaking out. Due to bad weather and Russian electronic warfare equipment making it difficult for Ukrainian drone operators to successfully hit their targets, Ukrainians deployed a new technology. Ukrainians had programmed several FPV kamikaze drones with target recognition software, meaning the drone operator only had to fly and lock on to a target, and the drone autonomously flies on and hits the target thereafter.

This bypasses Russian electronic warfare systems, which only work by severing the drone operator's connection to the drone, which the autonomous FPV drone does not need.

While not all Ukrainian FPV drones are yet equipped with this technology, Ukrainians were still able to destroy a large number of Russian vehicles and infantry trying to enter the settlement. In their hurry to report about their successful capture of the village and high Ukrainian losses, Russian channels even accidentally showed a destroyed Russian column of vehicles, thinking they were Ukrainian. The Russian drone operator had mistakenly identified the Russian vehicles as an American Bradley, Abrams, and several MRAP armored vehicles, and had proudly shown off their burning remains. Expectedly, the video was later deleted from their channel, but not before being picked up by Ukrainians.

Due to bad weather conditions and dense fog, Russians were still able to use their armored vehicles to deploy a decent amount of infantry in the settlement.

Ukrainian marines covering retreat under fire

These Russian infantry groups quickly continued their assaults against the undersupplied Ukrainian units still stuck in Lyubimovka. Ukrainians were horribly outmatched, as a Ukrainian officer in Kursk reported that they were outnumbered five to one in terms of manpower. In these conditions, Ukrainians had no option but to withdraw to more defensible positions in the settlements and behind the rivers.