A week into their counteroffensive aimed at eliminating Ukraine’s 250-square-mile salient in western Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Russian forces have suffered staggering casualties with little to show for it so far, Forbes notes in its analysis.
According to a Ukrainian drone operator supporting the defense of Kursk, known as Kriegsforscher, the Russians have lost at least 88 vehicles on three main roads threading through and around the settlement of Zeleny Shlyakh. The settlement is in the no-man’s-land on the salient’s northwestern flank.
“Every day they attack with [armored fighting vehicles],” Kriegsforscher reported. “Mostly four to six per attack.”
Forbes says the Ukrainian 17th Heavy Mechanized Brigade, 41st and 47th Mechanized Brigades, and 95th Air Assault Brigade, among other units, have met the Russians with mines, artillery, missiles, drones, and tanks. Graphic drone footage depicted several BTR-82 vehicles from the Russian 810th Naval Infantry Brigade getting blown up at short range by dug-in Ukrainian troops around the village of Pogrebki.
https://twitter.com/moklasen/status/1855894465057030156/
“What you see in the footage is the result of yet another lie from the local command to the general staff,” Russian blogger Romanov explained.
Marine commanders had assured their superiors that Russian forces were fully in control of the road through Pogrebki, leading to an order to storm the settlement. However, the Russians weren’t in control, and Ukrainian mines still littered the road.
Analyst Emil Kastehelmi of the Black Bird Group noted that the Kremlin is likely trying to advance as far as possible in Kursk before the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. This could potentially cut off vital US aid to Ukraine.
“This locks them into an unnecessarily rigid political position,” Kastehelmi wrote.
Despite the Russian attacks, Ukraine’s forces in Kursk know where and when the Russians are coming, allowing them to prepare their defenses accordingly.
Related:
- Frontline report: Ukraine traps Russian forces in Kursk direction after calculated withdrawal
- North Korean soldiers fight alongside Russians in Kursk Oblast
- ISW: Russians advance near Kurakhove and Toretsk
- Russia deploys 50,000 troops in attempts to reclaim Kursk Oblast before Trump presidency
- Reuters: South Korea confirms over 10,000 North Korean troops deployed to Russia
- ISW: Russians make multiple advances in Kursk, Donetsk while Ukraine regains ground in Kharkiv oblast
- North Korean troops face first combat in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Ukrainian official says
- South Korea considers sending weapons to Ukraine amid North Korean deployment
