On Sunday, Russian and Ukrainian troops simultaneously launched offensive operations in the Kursk region. Both sides were likely trying to outflank the other or disrupt the enemy's plans, but the attacks resulted in minimal territorial gains and heavy losses for both sides.
The Russians, probably with the participation of the 34th Motorized Rifle Brigade or the 155th Marine Brigade, launched six waves of attacks using about 50 pieces of equipment, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and light buggies. During the day, moving through open snow-covered fields, they came under massive fire from Ukrainian drones, rockets and artillery.
The Ukrainian 47th Mechanized Brigade, equipped with American-made armored vehicles, was able to effectively counter the attack, inflicting serious losses on the Russian forces. Russian losses amounted to 45 dead and 53 wounded, which corresponds to the number of almost one company.
Ukrainian offensive: difficulties in Berdyna
Ukrainian forces, in particular paratroopers from the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade, tried to advance to the village of Berdyn on the northern edge of the Kursk Salient. For the attack, they used American-made armored trucks and Stryker combat vehicles.
Russian troops, defending Berdyn, used explosive drones controlled via fiber optic cables. This made it difficult to jam them with Ukrainian means of radio-electronic warfare. The drones destroyed several Strykers and caused serious losses to the Ukrainians.
A few days after the fighting, it remains unclear whether Ukrainian forces managed to hold their positions in Berdyna, as there is evidence of Russians returning to the village after the fighting.
Limited results
Defensive advantages enhanced by modern technologies, in particular drones, turn modern combat into a "transparent" battlefield, where every movement can be observed. Rob Lee, an expert at the Institute for Foreign Policy Research, noted that neither side has achieved significant territorial changes in the region.
"It seems that the simultaneous offensives simultaneously ended in a bloody disaster - for the side that attacked," the newspaper concluded.
The situation in the Kursk region: what is known
The day before, Ukrainian defense forces began a new offensive operation in the Kursk region. According to analysts from the Institute for the Study of War, the Defense Forces attacked the Russian Federation from three different directions.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces reported that against the background of a new Ukrainian attack on the Kursk Region, Russia is forced to transfer additional troops from the Kharkiv Region to this region. In particular, the activity of the enemy fell in the Vovchansk direction.
