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11:29 12.08.2024 •
Ukraine's attempts to break through deep into Russian territory as part of its attack in the Kursk region had been foiled, the Russian Defense Ministry stated on Sunday, Sputnik Globe quotes. During the fighting in the Kursk direction, the enemy has lost up to 1,350 servicemen along with a large number of armored vehicles.
The strategy and tactics Ukraine is showing in the course of its cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region were developed with NATO, former US Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Stephen Bryen has speculated.
Russia foiled Ukraine's attempts by enemy mobile groups with armored vehicles to break through deep into Russian territory in the areas of the settlements of Tolpino, Zhuravli and Obshchaya Kolodez, the Russian Defense Ministry stated.
Weighing in on the possible goals of the Kiev regime’s operation, Bryen noted that Ukraine’s ability to withstand relentless attacks by Russian forces on the front line were “at a dead end.”
“On a daily basis, Ukraine has been losing around 1,000 troops (killed and wounded) and morale in some brigades has likely gone to near zero. The losses, even though Ukraine does its best to cover them up, pervade society,” he wrote. Furthermore, amid drastic manpower shortages, there is "resistance building up among Ukraine’s population" in the face of new draconian draft laws. There are fears that “newly-recruited troops will be thrown into combat as 'meat' brigades and slaughtered,” noted the author.
While Ukraine’s no longer legitimate Zelensky is under growing Western pressure to negotiate with Russia, he probably stakes on using the Kursk operation as some sort of leverage for the inevitable talks with Russia.
While the operation is military, the hoped-for outcome is political. There is no doubt it is a big gamble," the security strategy expert concluded.
Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border offensive on August 6 in an attempt to seize territory in Russia’s Kursk region. A counter-terrorism operation (CTO) regime was declared starting August 9 in Russia’s Kursk region due to the increased level of sabotage and terrorist threats from Ukraine. Russia’s Armed Forces are continuing to repel the attempted invasion of Russian territory by Ukrainian forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of launching a large-scale provocation, adding that Ukrainian troops had shelled Russian regions indiscriminately, firing at civilian infrastructure and ambulances.
Russia's commissioner for human rights, Tatyana Moskalkova appealed to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights with a demand to condemn the terrorism on the part of Ukraine and take measures to prevent gross mass violations of human rights.
US announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $125 million, according to the press service of the US Department of Defense.
"This Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package, which has an estimated value of $125 million, will provide Ukraine additional capabilities to meet its most urgent needs, including air defense capabilities; multi-mission radars to detect and counter enemy artillery; and anti-tank weapons," the Pentagon said.
At that time, the US provided Ukraine with weapons as part of two military aid packages, which included missiles for HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems.
Prior to that, the United States allocated a $225 million military aid package to Ukraine on July 11. It was crucial for Ukraine because it included one Patriot air defense system.
The package also included projectiles for NASAMS, HIMARS ammunition, and more.
…“US-made ‘Stryker vehicles’ destroyed on Russian land”... Do Americans realize what is happening? This is US involvement in aggression – direct or indirect – against Russia which they try to deny. What next?
Russian forces have thwarted attempts by Ukrainian troops on armored vehicles to penetrate deeper into the Kursk region during the day, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Sunday, Sputnik Globe quotes.
"Throughout the day, actions by forces of Battlegroup Sever and the reserves that arrived, along with strikes from army aviation and unmanned aerial vehicles, and artillery fire in the areas of the settlements of Tolpino, Zhuravli, and Obshchy Kolodez prevented breakthrough attempts by mobile enemy groups on armored vehicles into Russian territory," the statement said.
"Four armored personnel carriers were destroyed, including three US-made Stryker vehicles, seven armored combat vehicles, and two cars," the Russian Ministry of Defense noted.
Russian forces also launched missile and artillery strikes on concentrations of Ukrainian personnel and equipment in the Kursk region.
"As a result of missile strikes and artillery fire on concentrations of personnel and equipment of the 22nd, 41st, and 115th Mechanized Brigades, and the 80th and 82nd Air Assault Brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of Staraya Sorochina, Korenevo, Sudzha, and Borki, the enemy lost 35 soldiers, five tanks, four armored combat vehicles, and three cars," the ministry's summary on the repulsion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' attempt to invade Russian territory said.
Additionally, Russian aviation, artillery, and UAV units struck three launchers and destroyed the radar station of a US-made Patriot air defense system.
"Operational-tactical aviation, UAVs, missile troops, and artillery of the Russian Armed Forces struck three launchers and destroyed an AN/MPQ-65 radar station of a US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system," the statement said.
Furthermore, ammunition depots of Ukraine's Donetsk battlegroup and concentrations of enemy personnel and military equipment in 156 areas were hit, as clarified by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Russian air defense systems shot down four Tochka-U missiles, a French-made Hammer guided bomb, 15 HIMARS and Vampire missiles, and 71 drones, 30 of which were outside the special military operation zone.
Ukrainian units lost up to 110 soldiers in the area of responsibility of Battlegroup Vostok.
"Units of Battlegroup Vostok improved their positions on the front line, inflicted losses on personnel and equipment of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the 129th Territorial Defense Brigade in the areas of Vodyanoye and Novocheretovatoye in the Donetsk People's Republic," the statement said.
Forces of Battlegroup Yug improved their tactical position and destroyed two enemy ammunition depots. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also lost up to 385 soldiers, one infantry fighting vehicle, and three cars.
Battlegroup Tsentr units took more advantageous positions and repelled three Ukrainian attacks. According to the ministry, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 425 soldiers, two infantry fighting vehicles, including one US-made Bradley, a Kozak combat armored vehicle, four cars, a US-made 155 mm M777 howitzer, a US-made 155 mm Paladin self-propelled artillery unit, a 152 mm Msta-B howitzer, a 152 mm D-20 gun, a 122 mm D-30 howitzer, and a 100 mm Rapira gun.
"Units of Battlegroup Sever near the settlements of Volchansk and Liptsy inflicted losses on the personnel and equipment of the 22nd Mechanized and 82nd Air Assault Brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Odnorobovka and Kazachya Lopan in the Kharkov region," the Ministry of Defense said in its report.
"The enemy's losses amounted to up to 190 soldiers, two tanks, an infantry fighting vehicle, an armored personnel carrier, seven armored combat vehicles, two cars, a Croatian-made 122 mm RAK-SA-12 multiple launch rocket system, and three 122 mm D-30 howitzers. An ammunition depot was destroyed," the statement said.
Battlegroup Zapad inflicted losses on the formations of three Ukrainian brigades in the areas of Makeyevka, Stelmakhovka, and Torskoye, and repelled two counterattacks, resulting in more than 520 enemy soldiers being killed, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Sunday. Furthermore, according to the ministry, during counter-battery combat, a British-made FH-70 howitzer, a D-20 gun, two D-30 howitzers, a British-made L-119 howitzer, and a US-made AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radar station were struck.
Additionally, two electronic warfare stations, a Khortytsa and Nota, and two ammunition depots were destroyed.
Battlegroup Dnepr destroyed three Ukrainian ammunition depots, with Ukraine losing more than 70 soldiers. According to the ministry, units of the battlegroup inflicted losses on the formations of the 41st Infantry and 44th Airmobile Brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of Orekhov and Novodanilovka in the Zaporozhye region.
A Russian column moves towards active combat with Ukrainian formations in the Sudzhansky district of Kursk.
Photo: Russian Defense Ministry Press Service
Pasi Paroinen, an analyst from the Black Bird Group, a Finland-based organization that analyzes satellite imagery and social media content from the battlefield, said in an interview that evidence suggested that Moscow had been able to stall the major advances in Russian territory late in the week, writes ‘The New York Times’.
“We’re now entering the phase where the easy gains have been made,” he said of Ukraine’s initial advance. “This phase, for the first three days, saw the most rapid movement,” he added. “And yesterday, I think, we started to see the effects of the Russian response.”
What all of this means for Ukraine is not yet clear. In the third year of a war that has seemed largely frozen along a 600-mile front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, the decision by Ukrainian forces to cross the border into Russia apparently surprised not just Russia, but also the United States, other Western partners and analysts who spend their days following the war’s troop movements.
Some have speculated that Ukraine hopes to draw Russian troops away from the front lines in Ukraine, giving battle-weary Ukrainian troops a needed rest, although analysts say that has not happened.
The conflict also threatens to spill over into neighboring Belarus: On Saturday, Belarus, a Russian ally, said it was sending more troops to protect its border with Ukraine, claiming that Ukrainian drones had violated its airspace during the incursion into Russia. Belarus’s defense minister said on Telegram that its air defense forces had destroyed several Ukrainian drones that violated Belarusian airspace on Friday.
So far, Russian forces have not let up in their frontline pushes. In recent days, they have made some inroads near the embattled eastern Ukrainian towns of Chasiv Yar, Toretsk and Pokrovsk, the Institute for the Study of War said. On Friday, the British Defense Ministry said that Russian troops in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine had gained ground, pushing to about 10 miles from Pokrovsk.
The Ukrainian authorities, perhaps preparing for retaliation, said on Friday that they were evacuating 20,000 people from the Sumy region, across the border from Kursk.
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