Today, there are important updates from the Kursk direction. Here, the Russians threw themselves forward in a desperate attempt to break the Ukrainian defense in the Kursk salient.
However, Ukrainians launched a devastating airstrike on the main Russian forward operating base, cutting the head off the snake and scattering the Russian efforts—bombing the remaining infantry until none were left to continue the assault.
For months, Russian forces have been trying to retake all lost territories in Kursk Oblast, aiming not just to erase Ukraine’s recent gains but to push them back across the border completely. Their goal is clear: they cannot afford to continue having a sizable portion of Russian land controlled by Ukraine.
The Ukrainian-held territories in Kursk are not just a battlefield but a bargaining chip in future peace negotiations. As long as Ukrainian forces remain in Russia, even on a relatively small scale, Ukraine holds a psychological and diplomatic advantage. The longer this situation drags on, the more damaging it becomes for Russian political and military leadership, which cannot convincingly claim military dominance while Ukrainian troops hold ground inside Russian borders.
Russian assaults near Cherkasskaya Konopelka collapse under drone surveillance
To rectify this, Russian forces have launched repeated large-scale assaults all over the Kursk salient, attempting to overwhelm Ukrainian positions with sheer numbers. However, most of these attacks fail before making any meaningful gains. Even when Russian forces manage to capture ground, it is often minimal and comes at a heavy cost in casualties.
As part of their renewed offensive efforts, Russian forces have begun fierce battles to take areas lost in Ukraine’s recent counterattacks near Cherkasskaya Konopelka. One of Russia’s few advantages in this sector is that Ukrainians could never fully consolidate control over the forest leading up to Ulanok. Russian forces are using this large gray zone to infiltrate the forests and attack Ukrainian positions in small groups, attempting to exploit any gaps in the line and collapse the Ukrainian defense bit by bit.
Despite these attempts, the relatively clear weather has allowed Ukraine to maintain constant drone surveillance, making Russian movements predictable and easy to counter. Second, the frozen winter ground complicates Russian efforts to dig new positions closer to Ukrainian lines, shrink the large gray zone, and advance their area of control. Without proper fortifications, Russian assault groups remain highly vulnerable to Ukrainian drone strikes and artillery.
Ukrainians have capitalized on these weaknesses, launching devastating attacks from the air against Russian troops attempting to advance. Ukrainian Vampire and Babayaga drones are constantly hunting enemy forces with various drone-dropped munitions.
Ukrainian drones obliterate Russian soldiers and command post
In one recent drone operation, four Russian soldiers were detected moving toward cover inside a building. However, before they could secure a safe position, a Vampire hexacopter struck, dropping a TM-62 anti-tank mine on their hideout.
The powerful explosion obliterated the building and everyone inside, cutting off another Russian assault attempt before it could even begin.
In another highly successful operation, Ukrainian reconnaissance drones geolocated a Russian forward operating base, tracking troop movements and vehicles as they prepared for a more coordinated assault. Using this intelligence, Ukraine launched a missile strike, targeting the command post directly with several cluster munitions. The missile strike inflicted heavy losses, throwing Russian assault plans into disarray, loosening coordination, and forcing them to launch only disorganized small infantry group assaults instead.
To compensate for such heavy losses, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that Russian forces have resorted to a desperate measure—moving soldiers wounded in battles in eastern Ukraine to Kursk under the pretense of treatment and rehabilitation. However, upon arrival, the soldiers are instead given weapons and sent to active combat operations on the front line. This reflects the desperation Russian forces feel to push Ukrainians out of Kursk before it can be used as diplomatic leverage.
Overall, despite constant Russian assaults and intense artillery barrages, Ukrainian forces still hold a significant amount of ground in Kursk. While Russians have retaken large parts, the deeper Russian forces push, the stronger Ukraine’s defenses become.
The current Ukrainian positions have withstood months of attacks, and with Russia’s declining assault capabilities, dwindling reserves, and constantly disrupted command structure, it is clear that their goal of retaking the Kursk salient is slipping further out of reach.
In our daily 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.
