Russian Marines and Paratroopers, aided by reinforcements from North Korea, are launching an assault on Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region in western Russia. It appears they are determined to push the Ukrainians out of Kursk before the inauguration of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump in January. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced yesterday that Ukrainian forces are fighting against 50,000 Russian and North Korean troops in Kursk.
Parts of three powerful Ukrainian brigades are holding the line along the left wing of the forward Ukrainian battlefield in Kursk, which covers 650 square kilometers. However, the Russians and their foreign allies outnumber them and have more weapons.
The Kremlin seems ready to accept heavy losses in its attempt to retake Kursk from Ukrainian forces, who attacked the region in August.
Intense Fighting in Kursk Region
As Ukrainian drone operator “Kriegsforscher” told Forbes: “There are very brutal battles happening in the Kursk area.”
Releasing smoke to obscure their maneuvers, Russian paratroopers from the 51st Airborne Brigade and Marines from the 155th Naval Infantry Corps launched a direct assault on Ukrainian lines yesterday. Kriegsforscher counted 18 Russian armored personnel carriers loaded with soldiers, as well as infantry fighting vehicles and five tanks—T-72, T-80, and T-90 models. They were organized into three groups.
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However, Ukrainian forces put up fierce resistance and successfully repelled the Russian attacks, using their positions and tactical advantage. The fighting continues, and both sides have sustained significant losses. The situation on the ground is dynamic and fluid, and the coming days will be crucial for the further developments in the Kursk region.
Ukrainian drones and tanks met the Russian assault. The battles were chaotic and bloody, and in the end, the Russians left behind 15 combat and armored vehicles and three tanks— a heavy price for their frontal attack.
“We are very lucky that they are conducting so many suicidal assaults,” remarked Kriegsforscher.
In Chaotic Kursk, Russian Vehicles Piled With Troops Are Rolling Right Up To Ukrainian Tanks—And Getting Blasted @forbes https://t.co/saXEXAR60U pic.twitter.com/1Hd1dpNXti
— David Axe (@daxe) November 11, 2024
Chaotic Fighting
The fighting is taking place in chaotic conditions at close distances between the warring territories. According to Kriegsforscher, two Ukrainian tank crews—likely from the newly formed 17th Heavy Mechanized Brigade—encountered four Russian armored personnel carriers full of soldiers. The Ukrainian tank crews did not notice the Russian vehicles until a large number of soldiers jumped out of them. At that point, the tanks opened fire, destroying one of the APCs.
It is not unusual for entire Russian units to be destroyed in a single Ukrainian strike. During the attack on Saturday, 15 Russians were killed as a result of strikes on one or more vehicles of the 51st Airborne Brigade. Kriegsforscher claimed that his drone unit killed or wounded all the Russians, contributing to record Russian losses in recent days.
Russians Executed Ukrainian Prisoners
Ukrainians are also dying. The Russians recently captured and executed six Ukrainian soldiers along the front line in Kursk, continuing a series of brutal executions of prisoners, mostly carried out by the 155th Marine Infantry Brigade.
While the front line in eastern Ukraine is dangerously bending under relentless Russian attacks, Ukraine is trying to find reserve forces for reinforcements in Kursk. Russia, on the other hand, can rely on thousands of North Koreans to strengthen the defense on the front line in the area. The Russian elite 76th Airborne Division could also be on its way to Kursk, if Kriegsforscher’s intelligence reports are accurate.
Swedish-supplied CV-90 IFV in Ukrainian service, fighting in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. pic.twitter.com/kZRfKFBFFl
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) November 11, 2024
Russians Want to Reclaim Sudzha
The Kremlin’s goal is to reclaim the town of Sudzha in the center of Ukraine’s forward position in Kursk.
“The military-political leadership of the Russian Federation has decided to regain control of Sudzha in the Kursk region before the inauguration of the next U.S. president,” stated the Ukrainian Defense Strategy Center.
Newly elected President Trump has promised to end the war in Ukraine. His main proposal, though currently unverified, is to freeze the frontline wherever it may be. If a ceasefire were to take effect today, it would mean the surrender of 116,500 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory to Russia, but also the handing over of 650 square kilometers of Kursk to Ukraine.
Russians Attack Directly, Suffer Huge Losses
Putin intends to retake Kursk before a possible ceasefire, thus ending Ukrainian control over any part of Russia. Russian attacks are so chaotic and accelerated that they reveal the political backdrop of the new Russian offensive.
The Russians are not using calculated tactics. They are attacking directly and suffering significant losses, positioning Russia towards one of two options: a favorable ceasefire or another year of costly fighting.
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Source: Blic
Photo: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service / Tanjug/AP