Russia begins to retake part of the territory conquered by Ukraine in the Kursk province

The Russian army has begun to retake part of Kursk province, the territory of the Russian Federation that Ukrainian troops seized in August. Kremlin forces are pressing ahead with a counteroffensive in the western end of the province. The gap opened by kyivRussian tanks and troops have managed to cross the narrow Seym River and recaptured a dozen villages, according to the Ministry of Defense.

The operation was carried out with the support of the Russian air force, which has an advantage thanks to the veto on kyiv from firing Western missiles at Russian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that the operation is underway. Russian counteroffensivealthough he has shown confidence: “Everything is going according to the Ukrainian plan,” he said. One objective of the operation in Kursk was divert Russian troops from the front in Donbas. kyiv was also looking to make a statement with this highly symbolic operation. According to several Anglo-Saxon media, the United Kingdom will unblock the use of its weapons in the coming days. The United States, for its part, is almost convinced to take this key step.

“The size, scale and potential prospects of Russian counterattacks in the oblast [provincia] Kursk are not clear and the situation remains fluid,” emphasizes the daily report of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). However, information from the ground suggests that Russian troops have redoubled their efforts in a mission that President Vladimir Putin described as “sacred”: to recover their own territories.

A month and a half after Ukrainian troops took advantage of the lack of protection at Kursk to launch a rapid offensive, the battle on Russian territory has evolved into a more stable front with a greater concentration of troops.

“Visual evidence suggests that Russian forces operate in company-sized units and may be employing members with more combat experience,” the ISW added.

Despite the Russian advance, kyiv may have achieved its goal of drawing large numbers of enemy troops from other fronts. Russian war correspondent Yuri Kotiónok noted on his Telegram channel that Russian forces have once again used formations on a scale not seen since the beginning of the war, which subjected them to enormous wear and tear.

“The Kursk counteroffensive operations are being conducted by battalion tactical groups (BTG) of the Marine Corps and the Airborne Forces,” Kotiónok wrote on his Telegram channel, where he has more than 400,000 followers.

“The Russian military stopped using BTG in the last two years and its resurgence in the oblastKursk, if confirmed, would be a significant turning point,” notes the Institute for the Study of War.

Despite Zelensky’s armed forces blowing up several bridges in an attempt to block Putin’s troops, the Deep State platform has noted that the Russian military began “assault operations by transporting armored vehicles across the Seym River, first, and then across other smaller rivers” on September 10.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claims to have recaptured “in the last two nights” 10 small towns located in the western part of the Ukrainian salient in Kursk, approximately ten kilometers from the border: Apanasovka, Byajovo, Vishniovka, Viktorovka, Vnevapnoye, Gordeyevka, Krasnooktyabrskoye, Obukhovka and Snagost and 10-Y Oktyabr.

The Russian war report also states that its troops repelled two alleged Ukrainian counterattacks aimed at Fanaseyevka and Snágost, as well as another attack in the direction of Olgovka, in the northern part of the gap opened by kyiv.

Despite the advance, the Russian Ministry of Defence only lists as Ukrainian losses “20 people, including wounded and dead, and one armoured vehicle and one car destroyed” in the entire operation. As usual, Moscow does not mention its own casualties.

On the other hand, the Russian Armed Forces acknowledge that Ukrainian troops are trying to open new breaches. According to Moscow, its army has stopped two advances into its territory through the towns of Novi Put and Medvezhye.

Veto on long-range missiles

Ukraine is still fighting at a disadvantage because of the US and European ban on using its long-range missiles against targets on Russian territory. In its latest war report, Moscow stresses that its air force has not only bombed several brigades on the Kursk front, but also in Ukrainian territory.

“Tactical-operational aviation and missile forces have carried out strikes in the Sumy region against areas where reserves of Ukrainian mechanized brigades are concentrated,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said, before citing an endless list of Kiev units, both professional and territorial defense.

The freedom of Russian aviation on fronts close to Russian territory could soon come to an end. Its airfields are among kyiv’s priority targets, and London has already authorized Ukraine to fire its missiles. Storm Shadow within Russia, the newspaper revealed on Wednesday The Guardian.

According to the British newspaper, the US has also changed its mind and its Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, confirmed this to London and kyiv at a meeting in the Ukrainian capital this week. The reason why Washington is preparing to give Zelensky the green light to cross this red line has been the delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles to Moscow“a significant and dangerous escalation.”

All sorts of images have been circulating on social media of alleged pontoons erected by Russia to cross the river. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) investigative journalist Mark Krutov has managed to confirm the veracity of at least one that was not present at least three days before the Russian counteroffensive began.

Other military analysts have identified the Russian advance through videos obtained from open sources. Expert Rob Lee posted a video on X, the former Twitter account, in which a column of at least eight tanks and other armoured vehicles attacked Snágost. According to the analyst, the tanks belonged to the 51st Airborne Regiment.

The Battle of Kursk has displaced 133,000 people from the region and left hundreds injured, according to local authorities. The province’s health services have estimated that 246 people have been injured since August 6, the start of the Russian offensive, until September 10. The Russian news agency Tass reported on August 21 that at least three dozen civilians have died in the fighting.

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