Russian forces continue to inflict heavy losses on Ukrainian troops that crossed the border into Kursk Region earlier this week, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Friday, providing an estimate of Kiev’s casualties in the incursion.
According to the ministry, Ukraine has lost up to 945 soldiers as well as 102 armored vehicles, including 12 tanks and 17 armored personnel carriers. The figures include more than 280 troops and 27 armored vehicles destroyed over the past 24 hours in areas bordering Kursk Region, Moscow added.
The report also stated that Russian airstrikes have recently destroyed five Stryker armored personnel carriers as well as a Ukrainian military column that consisted of a tank, four APCs, and a Kozak combat vehicle.
The ministry added that the operation to repel and destroy Ukraine’s forces in the region continues, and that the Russian military, aided by airstrikes and artillery fire, has prevented Kiev’s attempts to conduct raids deep into Russian territory in Kursk Region.
Ukrainian forces launched their cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region in the early hours of Tuesday. The leadership in Kiev has said one of the objectives of the assault is to sow “fear” into the hearts of the Russian population, in order to lower support for their government and eke out a stronger negotiating position.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the attack as a “large-scale provocation,” and has accused Kiev of conducting “indiscriminate strikes” on civilians, residential buildings, and ambulances. Multiple videos circulating online in the past two days appear to show Ukrainian troops firing on civilian cars.
The Russian Defense Ministry has estimated that Kiev’s assault was carried out by forces numbering up to a thousand, supported by tanks and artillery. The chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, reported on Wednesday that Kiev’s incursion had been halted by the Russian military, and that Ukraine had suffered heavy losses.