In the Kursk section of the front, Ukrainian forces have launched a daring flanking maneuver, breaking through Russian defenses and putting the entire Russian strike force on the verge of encirclement. This bold maneuver could completely neutralize Russia’s counter-offensive and give Ukraine an ultimate upper hand in this region.
As reported last time, Russians took control of Snagost and reestablished ground lines of communication with the Glushkovo pocket. However, to keep Russians cut off from the mainland, Ukrainians kept the road under strict fire control with FPV drones. Russians knew that to eliminate the threat of Ukrainians launching another attack and cutting off the pocket again, they had to push Ukrainian forces further west.
Russian military sources reported they launched a series of infantry assaults on Byahkovo, Vnezapnoe, and Gordeevka and had captured these minor settlements. Russians launched a spearhead mechanized assault on the settlement of Lubimova, a slightly larger settlement that Ukrainians are able to use as a launching point for future offensive actions. Taking control of Lubimovka would allow Russians to sever the Sudzha-Korenevo road, cut off and outflank Ukrainian positions further to the north.
Ukrainians report that Russians launched the assault with two tanks, 11 BMD infantry fighting vehicles, and one armored personnel carrier. Geolocated footage shows how Ukrainians destroyed the Russian armor as it advanced toward the town with anti-tank mines, Javelin ATGMs, and FPV drones mounted with anti-tank weapons.
Interestingly, the BMD-2 vehicles that Russians used for their assault belong to Russian VDV Airborne infantry units. This, along with reports from the Institute for the Study of War stating that Russians redeployed several Naval Infantry or Marine battalions, indicates that Russians have redeployed more combat-effective units to launch this assault. Most other Russian units along the front line in Kursk are either conscripts, Donbas volunteers, police, or even just guards of military facilities.
This means that Russians are not yet able to launch a full frontal counter-offensive but have to rely on smaller tactical operations from these more well-trained marine and airborne battalions to force Ukrainians to withdraw from their territorial gains.
If we look at the topographic map, we can better understand how Ukrainians defeated the Russian assaults. Russians mainly advanced in and along the lowlands while Ukrainians maintained control over the high ground. This has allowed Ukrainians to fight off Russian assaults in the south and destroy the Russian spearhead toward Lubimovka. In the south, Russians were also able to assault from the high ground themselves, and defending the settlements here would just lead to unnecessary losses, which is why Ukrainians pulled back.
The Institute for the Study of War also concluded that Russians have only captured weaker Ukrainian positions in the lowlands but experienced much more difficulty penetrating deeper as Ukrainians maintained stronger positions further into the salient.
Ukrainians also continued their offensive operation on the Glushkovo salient, moving further west and capturing the border settlements of Volfino and Krasnooktyabr’skiy. As it turns out, Russian units had turned the large school building in the settlement of Veseloe into a base of operations, storing manpower and ammunition here and using it to coordinate the defense. As all civilians had been evacuated, Ukrainians were free to airstrike the Russian base with precision-guided bombs, destroying the building completely.
Geolocated footage also shows how Ukrainians used their tanks to fire on any Russian position left in the settlement. With the main Russian base of operations destroyed, Ukrainians, under the cover of their tanks, were able to move in and successfully clear the settlement of any remaining Russian resistance.
Russian military bloggers later reported that Ukrainians had taken complete control of Veseloe, advanced along the road to Glushkovo, and moved further along the railway line to the east. If we look at the topographic map, we can see that Veseloe is situated on the edge of the high ground, and Ukrainians are likely moving further to take complete control of the plateau.
Russian military sources state that Russian VDV Airborne forces were conducting counterattacks. However, Russian analysts remained unoptimistic as the unit had taken heavy losses in its spearhead attack on Lubimovo, and Ukrainians securely controlled the high ground.
However, Glushkovo is likely not the next Ukrainian target. Ukrainians are more likely to advance along the railway line and attempt a pincer maneuver on Snagost from the high grounds. This would put most of the Russian marine and airborne assault group in encirclement and completely dismantle the Russian counteroffensive attempt on the salient.
Overall, the Russian spearhead toward Lubimovo fell apart as they encountered stronger Ukrainian resistance the deeper they moved into the salient. Ukrainians were also able to effectively utilize the high ground advantage to dismantle both the spearhead towards Lubimovo and the infantry assaults on the settlements to the south. Moreover, after the fall of Veseloe, Ukrainians could swiftly secure large parts of the Glushkovo highlands. This will serve as the launching pad and allow for the final blow in which Ukrainians will cut off the Russian marine and airborne assault group by launching a pincer maneuver from the high grounds.
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.
