Russian paratroopers have ambushed Kiev’s forces in Russia’s Kursk Region, eliminating Ukrainian personnel together with several units of hardware, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said. It also published a video of the operation.
Russian airborne forces are working to dislodge the Ukrainian military from Kursk Region, where a cross-border incursion has been underway since early August, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
In an area near the border with Ukraine, “the timely detection of the enemy and rapid response by the paratroopers allowed to swiftly destroy the opponent’s personnel and armored vehicles,” the statement read.
An ambush was set up on a road, and the “confident actions” of the Russian drone operators led to the elimination of “a Ukrainian all-terrain vehicle with its crew, an infantry fighting vehicle, and a Western-made armored car,” it said.
According to the ministry, a Ukrainian-operated APC was also taken out, and the personnel traveling inside it were later killed by paratroopers in a gunfight.
In addition, and anti-tank missile system crew blew up a Ukrainian truck, which had been used to supply ammunition to the contact line. The missile directly hit the cargo, causing a major explosion that obliterated the vehicle together with the driver and an accompanying soldier.
Ukrainian forces entered Kursk Region on August 6, in the largest attack on internationally recognized Russian territory since the start of hostilities between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. Their advance was quickly halted, with the Russian military reporting the liberation of more than a dozen villages in the area over the past week. However, the Kiev forces remain in control of some settlements in Kursk Region, and the fighting continues.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine has lost more than 14,200 troops and several hundred units of military equipment, including 119 tanks and 91 armored personnel carriers, since the start of the incursion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed in early September that liberating Kursk Region is “a sacred duty” of the Russian military. According to the president, by targeting the region, Ukraine wanted to make Moscow “nervous” and force it to re-deploy units from other key sectors of the frontline, but has failed to achieve its goals.