In Chaotic Kursk, Russian Vehicles Piled With Troops Are Rolling Right Up To Ukrainian Tanks—And Getting Blasted At Point-Blank Range
‘We are very lucky that they do a lot of banzai attacks,’ a Ukrainian drone operator noted.
David Axe | Nov 11, 2024 | 02:10pm ESTRussian marines and paratroopers supported by North Korean reinforcements are hurling themselves at Ukrainian positions in western Russia’s Kursk Oblast—determined, it seems, to force the Ukrainians out of Kursk before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated in January.
Elements of three powerful Ukrainian brigades are holding the line along the left flank of the 250-square-mile Ukrainian salient in Kursk, but they’re outnumbered and outgunned by the Russians and their foreign allies. The Kremlin is apparently willing to accept enormous casualties recapturing Kursk from the Ukrainian troops that invaded the oblast in August.
“Very cruel fights are taking part in [the] Kursk area,” Ukrainian drone operator Kriegsforscher reported.
Popping smoke to obscure their movements, Russian paratroopers from the 51st Airborne Regiment and marines from the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade attacked Ukrainian lines head-on on Monday. Kriegsforscher counted 18 Russian BMP, BMD and MT-LB infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers laden with infantry as well as five T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks, all organized into three groups.
Ukrainian drones and tanks met the assault. The fighting was chaotic and bloody and, in the end, the Russians left behind 15 IFVs and APCs and three tanks—the terrible price of their frontal assault. “We are very lucky that they do a lot of banzai attacks,” Kriegsforscher noted.
The fighting is close and confusing. According to Kriegsforscher, two Ukrainian tank crews—possibly from the newly reorganized 17th Heavy Mechanized Brigade—rolled out to meet the Russians and crossed paths with, but failed to notice, four Russian BMDs or BMPs full of infantry.
The Ukrainian tankers didn’t spot the Russian vehicles until the vehicles disgorged 15 paratroopers. That’s when the tanks opened fire, destroying one BMD.
It’s not unusual for entire Russian squads to get wiped out in a single blast. During an assault on Saturday, 15 Russians dismounted from one or more 51st Airborne Regiment vehicles. Kriegsforscher claimed their drone unit killed or wounded every single Russian, contributing to what may have been record Russian losses in recent days.
Ukrainians are dying, too. The Russians reportedly captured and executed six Ukrainian troops along the front line in Kursk recently, extending a series of brutal killings of prisoners largely perpetrated by the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade. . .
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/11/11/in-chaotic-kursk-russian-vehicles-piled-with-troops-are-rolling-right-up-to-ukrainian-tanks-and-getting-blasted-at-point-blank-range/
