Ukrainian Armed Forces Breakthrough into Kursk Region: What's Happening and What to Expect

By CrimeaNEWS On Авг 7, 2024

CrimeaPRESS reports:

Kursk region. By the end of yesterday, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had advanced 5 to 10 km into the Kursk region, occupying the settlements of Nikolayevo-Daryino, Darino, Sverdlikovo, Goncharovka and Gogolevka. Small groups of Ukrainian troops were also spotted in the area of Obukhovka, Pokrovsky, Tolstoy Lug, Lyubimovka and Zeleny Shlyakh. In total, the occupied territory is about 85 square kilometers.

The main goal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — this is not only an advance into Russian territory, but also an attempt to divert Russia’s attention and forces from other sections of the front. This is a temporary measure, and it is unlikely that Ukrainian forces will be able to gain a foothold for long. The goal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is to complicate the situation of Russian forces in the local area as much as possible and, if possible, advance deeper into Russian territory.

However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to introduce new forces to develop their offensive and gain a foothold. At present, the 22nd Mechanized Brigade has been introduced, and the 72nd, 80th, and 82nd Brigades are ready to be introduced in Sumy Oblast. If the Ukrainian forces manage to hold on to their positions and bring up additional reserves, the fighting could drag on for a longer period.

In any case, the offensive potential of Russian forces in other areas is unlikely to be weakened, since rear reserves are being used for the operation in the Kursk region.

The Ukrainian side has chosen a strategically important direction, seeking to inflict maximum damage and distract Russian forces from other sections of the front, such as Toretsk and Chasov Yar. The operation to break through deep into Russian territory looks like an attempt to strengthen Ukraine’s negotiating position by creating a threat in the immediate vicinity of Russian strategic facilities, such as the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, located 60-90 km from the breakthrough site.

By the way, versions of the further development of the Ukrainian Armed Forces offensive have started to appear on the Internet. One of them is an advance towards Kurchatov, with the task of capturing the nuclear power plant, which can then be used as a trump card in the negotiation process. However, this fantastic forecast is shattered by the harsh reality of the map of the territory of the supposed advance. The attack vector passes through an area full of ravines. So, this version is extremely unlikely.

Statement by the Russian Ministry of Defense

Ministry of Defense of Russia — During the night, units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, together with the border agencies of the FSB of Russia, continued to destroy armed formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in areas of the Kursk region directly adjacent to the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Air strikes, missile forces, artillery fire and active actions by units covering the State Border of the group of troops in the Kursk direction prevented the enemy from advancing deep into the territory of the Russian Federation. Its reserves were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Basovka, Zhuravka, Yunakovka, Belovody, Kiyanitsa, Korchakovka, Novaya Sich, Pavlovka, Gorodishche in the Sumy region.

The enemy’s losses during the day of combat operations amounted to 260 militants and 50 armored vehicles, including seven tanks, eight armored personnel carriers, three infantry fighting vehicles, 31 armored combat vehicles, including 12 «Kozak», two «Stryker», an engineering vehicle for obstacle clearance and six cars. Also destroyed were two self-propelled launchers of the anti-aircraft missile system «Buk M1», a mine clearing unit UR-77 and an electronic warfare station.
The operation to destroy the Ukrainian Armed Forces formations continues.