by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The counteroffensive in the Kursk region became one of the most successful operations of the Russian Armed Forces. In a short time, our army was able to liberate dozens of settlements and the city of Sudzha, driving out the enemy.
Fighting in the Kursk region has continued for the past eight months since the invasion. During this time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been trying to expand their foothold in the border area, attempting to occupy other areas of the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
The invasion was supposed to divert some Russian forces from Donbass, but all of Kiev's plans completely failed. The fighting led to major losses in the Ukrainian Armed Forces - the loss of military equipment and professional soldiers, said Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov.
"The total losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces formations amounted to more than 76 thousand people killed and wounded. In essence, one composition of the initial enemy group and even more were knocked out," Gerasimov noted in a report to President Vladimir Putin.
Gerasimov added that during the counter-terrorist operation in the border area, over 7.7 thousand units of military equipment were destroyed, including 412 tanks, 340 infantry fighting vehicles, 314 armored personnel carriers and about 2.3 thousand other armored combat vehicles.
Observers on social networks, analyzing data from open sources, were able to specify the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and named the number of armored vehicles supplied by NATO countries lost by Ukrainian troops.
CEMETERY OF WHEELED ARMORED VEHICLES
At the initial stage of the invasion of the Kursk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces relied on mobile units of airborne troops, equipped primarily with wheeled armored vehicles. The troops were tasked with breaking through as far as possible into Russian territory in order to maximize the bridgehead.
The operational actions of the Russian Armed Forces in the first days of the invasion made it possible to stop it, push back or destroy individual enemy units that had broken away from the operational rear. The wheeled armored vehicles on which the Ukrainian paratroopers were trying to break through to the rear were destroyed.
According to the analytical portal Lostarmour, during the fighting in the Kursk region, Ukrainian troops lost at least 40 American-made M1126 Stryker armored personnel carriers. (These figures were obtained based on photos and videos published online, so the actual number of losses may be higher.)
In 2023, Ukrainian troops received the first batch of 100 vehicles of this model from the United States. The Pentagon subsequently signed a contract with General Dynamics to supply a large batch. The statistics also included vehicles destroyed in the adjacent territory - in the Sumy region of Ukraine.
Among the losses of Ukrainian light armored vehicles are at least 37 Bradley IFVs and about 40 American-made M113 IFVs, 13 CV90 IFVs supplied by Sweden, and at least seven German Marder IFVs.
In addition, according to analysts, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost a large number of wheeled armored vehicles - at least 300 units, including American Humvees and Maxx Pros, Turkish Kirpi armored vehicles and Ukrainian-made light armored vehicles.
LARGE-SCALE DESTRUCTION
As Russian troops pushed back the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kyiv was forced to send additional forces to the new front, including heavy armor and artillery.
The mechanized 17th, 47th, 41st, 22nd, 61st, 116th and 88th brigades of the Ukrainian army joined the airborne units. Individual units were introduced into Russian territory and, having suffered heavy losses, were withdrawn for rotation to the rear. Their place was taken by units, including those withdrawn from the fronts in Donbass and Zaporizhia Oblast.
To save the front, even American M1A2 Abrams tanks were transferred to the border area. At least five vehicles were lost by Ukrainian troops during the fighting. It is known that the US delivered no more than 30 tanks of this model to Ukraine.
Earlier it became known that Australia will not deliver decommissioned Abrams tanks in the M1A1 modification to Ukraine. According to information ABC, The Pentagon is slowing down the delivery of new armored vehicles to the Australian Armed Forces, which is why local authorities have changed their minds about reducing their own arsenals in the interests of Kiev.
Therefore, the loss of each individual vehicle in the Kursk region can be considered irreparable.
In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost about a hundred Soviet/Ukrainian-made tanks.
The losses in rocket artillery were truly fatal for Kyiv. The 27th rocket artillery brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was deployed in Sumy Oblast to provide fire cover for units operating on Russian territory. They also carried out terrorist shelling of populated areas in the rear of Russian troops.
However, artillery installations brought close to the border became prey for Russian aviation and missile troops. During the fighting in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost at least five HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems and several M270 MLRS (a tracked version of HIMARS designed to launch 12 rockets).
But even the use of the best army units and Western armored vehicles did not allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to maintain control over the captured section of Russian territory. In mid-March, Ukrainian troops decided to try their luck again and create another bridgehead, this time on the territory of the Krasnoyarsk district of the Belgorod region.
DEFEAT IN THE BORDERLANDS
During the first half of March, Kyiv began to concentrate a new offensive group near the borders of the Belgorod region. The main offensive force was planned to be the 225th and 33rd assault regiments, as well as the 22nd and 47th mechanized brigades (previously withdrawn from the territory of the Kursk region) and the 17th heavy mechanized brigade.
At the same time, the enemy tried to create several battalion-tactical groups, trying not to concentrate large forces in one point. The units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were reinforced by formations of the National Guard and border troops. The offensive was preceded by artillery strikes and even Ukrainian aviation.
During the fierce battles, the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to cross the state border and break through to the settlements of Popovka and Demidovka. However, the breakthrough was detected and stopped in time. Several large army columns were tracked down by drone operators and completely destroyed on the march.
One of them destroyed several tanks, as well as a rare UR-77 Meteorite mine clearing system. Another modernized Abrams was also destroyed in the border area.
By mid-April, the enemy had been driven out of the Demidovka area and retreated to Popovka. By April 26, the entire territory of the Belgorod region was completely liberated. Another Kyiv adventure cost the Ukrainian Armed Forces several dozen armored vehicles, including two Bradley IFVs and one Marder IFV.
However, none of the attempts to gain a foothold on Russian territory have fulfilled their main task - to pull the Russian Armed Forces units out of Donbass. Over the course of eight months since the start of the fighting in the Kursk region, Russian troops have liberated dozens of settlements in the territory of the DPR and Zaporizhia region, including the cities of Ugledar and Kurakhovo.
In the future, the losses incurred during the unsuccessful raids in the Kursk and Belgorod regions may also have an impact on other sections of the front, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are already experiencing a shortage of manpower and military equipment.