Yuriy Kobzar18:40, 12.08.24

The Russians could not stop the invasion across the border, and still cannot stop the further advance.

The rapid advance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region was a surprise not only for Russia and outside observers, but even for Ukrainian soldiers who took part in this operation. The Financial Times was told about this by fighters who returned from a mission in Russian territory.

The surprise effect

A fighter of the 82nd Airborne Assault Brigade named Volodymyr admitted that there was a lot of adrenaline in his blood when he was preparing to enter Russian territory. However, almost immediately it became clear that his worries were exaggerated.

“We entered Russian territory for the first time at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday [August 6]. We were among the first to enter there,” Volodymyr says.

To his surprise, the unit met no resistance when their 20-ton Stryker stormed across the border in broad daylight. Soon they came across the first Russian unit: the Russians were “sitting in the forest, drinking coffee at a table.”

“Then our Stryker drove right into their table. We killed many of them on the first day. Because they were unarmed and did not wait for us,” the fighter recalls. Not wanting to end like their comrades, “dozens” of stunned Russian soldiers simply laid down their weapons and surrendered.

Over the next six days, the fear felt by the many thousands of Ukrainian soldiers participating in this audacious operation was replaced by elation. They advanced quickly – 5-10 km per day – captured several villages, a part of the railway track and a key gas transit point. They began hastily entrenching positions and preparing for the arrival of Russian reinforcements.

But, to their surprise, Russian troops did not appear, at least not in the number expected by the Ukrainians. The Russians mainly focused on bombing from aircraft with guided aerial bombs and on the use of kamikaze drones. This caused some losses to the Ukrainians, but did not stop the offensive.

“At first it was a bit difficult, but then it became easier,” says Roman, another soldier from Volodymyr’s unit.

Denys, the driver of a US-provided Humvee armored vehicle, said that the fighting in Kurshchyna feels “completely different” than in the Donetsk region.

“Fighting in defensive positions is much more difficult. The enemy there knows everything about us. He knows where we are. His drones see our every move. We had an element of surprise here. But we were also surprised that [they] were so surprised [by us attack],” he said.

The offensive continues

The Ukrainians say that, in general, the operation is progressing exactly as they had hoped. In less than a week, they managed to penetrate more than 30 kilometers into the territory of Russia and captured about 350 square kilometers of territory. Volodymyr said that the Ukrainians continue to move towards Kursk.

Russia has not yet been able to stop their advance, say the military. Many of the Russian reinforcements were captured or killed. For example, one Russian convoy was destroyed by missiles from the Himars installation.

(C)UNIAN 2024