A heavily camouflaged Russian T-72B3M tank of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation lays in wait in Russia’s Kursk region amid an ongoing struggle to push back invading Ukrainain forces. File photo courtesy Russian Defense Ministry/EPA-EFE
Feb. 7 (UPI) — Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region launched a counter-offensive with Ukraine armored units breaking out of the town of Sudzha and punching through Russia’s defensive line and advancing about 5 miles, capturing two towns.
Citing geolocated footage, the Wasington-based Institute for War said in a news release Thursday that the Ukrainians attacked southeastward with 30 to 50 armored vehicles, equivalent to two mechanized battalions, along the 38K-028 Sudzha-Oboyan highway, seizing the towns of Kolmakov and Fanaseyevka.
Russia’s defense ministry confirmed the counteroffensive but claimed its forces successfully fought back multiple pushes by two Ukrainian mechanized brigades of armored personnel carriers and armored fighting vehicles with tank and obstacle-clearing vehicle support, inflicting heavy losses, according to the state-run TASS news agency.
“Eight waves of attempted counter-attacks have been successfully repelled,” said the ministry, which claimed its forces had killed 200 Ukrainian troops.
The ministry said Russian troops also knocked out 50 Ukrainian vehicles including eight tanks, 30 armored fighting vehicles, five infantry fighting vehicles, one armored personnel carrier, three obstacle-clearing vehicles, a vehicle-launched bridge and other military equipment.
Thursday’s offensive coincided with the six month anniversary of Ukraine turning the tables on Moscow by sending armored units across its northeastern border into the Kursk region on Aug. 6 in a lightning assault, occupying Sudzha and capturing hundreds of miles of Russian territory.
Russian forces have since retaken significant ground with the help of 11,000 troop reinforcements provided by North Korea, according to ISW, but the fighting has 67,000 Russian troops pinned down in Kursk, preventing Russian command from redeploying them to higher priority regions of the Ukraine frontline in Donetsk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on X Thursday hailed the Ukrainian military’s effort in Kursk six months into the operation, saying they had shown the world what Ukraine was capable of despite its lack of resources.
“With our active operations on Russian territory, we have brought the war home to Russia. That is where they must feel what war truly means. And they do. I thank every Ukrainian warrior and every unit involved in operations in the Kursk region. They have shown the world that, even with limited resources, we can act decisively, unexpectedly, and effectively.
“We continue to expose Russia’s bluff for what it is. We are defending our cities — Sumy and Kharkiv — and significantly increasing our exchange fund. Hundreds of Russian soldiers are now in our captivity — soldiers we will exchange to bring Ukrainians home from Russian prisons,” wrote Zelensky.
He confirmed that wounded North Korean soldiers were among those taken prisoner, saying they were conclusive proof that Putin had drawn the East Asian country into the war and was training its forces in modern warfare, warning that this posed a universal threat, but would be particularly menacing for North Korea’s neighbors in the region.