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The Ukrainian military incursion in the Kursk oblast, now a month old, has not forced Russian occupiers to halt their offensive in Donbas, to the east, though its effects are already being felt on certain sections of the front, ERR’s Anton Aleksejev reported.
Aleksejev and camera operator Kristjan Svirgsden have been delivering regular reportages from Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
This week they visited the artillery command post of the Ukrainian 24th Brigade to ask about the situation near Chasiv Yar, one of the hottest spots on the Donbas front.
One Ukrainian soldier, Taras, siad: “How can I put it… They’re trying to advance from the flanks, both left and right.”
“They’re also coming straight at us. They’ve been trying everything, but we’re holding them back and not allowing them make progress,” Taras went on.
For good reason, Taras cannot give his full undivided attention to the interviewer, since he also has to monitor the situation in his sector.
At that point, the Ukrainians hit another Russian tank, using a 2S1 Gvozdika (“Carnation”), a Soviet-era self-propelled howitzer which performs its tasks effectively and would do even more so with greater ammunition stocks.
Another soldier, Yurii, said: “Just a few days ago, we managed to destroy an enemy shelter with just three shells. That was an excellent outcome. But I have to admit, it doesn’t always go so smoothly. If we were that precise all the time, the war would already have been over.”
Things have been a bit calmer in the sector of late, primarily thanks to the ongoing Kursk offensive.
“Because of Kursk, we have a bit less work right now. Before Kursk, there was more,” another soldier, Vasylyi, told ERR.
“The situation is tense, but stable. For now, we’ve halted their offensive. It’s more fraught near Toretsk, but the most intense fighting is happening near Pokrovske,” Taras explained.
The full segment filed for “Aktuaalne kaamera” is here.
Ukraine’s Kursk oblast offensive, which started on August 6, has captured between 770 square kilometers and 1,200 square kilometers, depending on estimates.
This has to be set against considerations of acquiring territory versus acquiring useful territory, and necessarily has led to the Russian side focusing on the east front in Donbas, particularly on the city of Pokrovske, a transport hub, and on using more effective contract soldiers rather than conscripts.
Still, Russian territorial gains through August have been between a quarter and a half of those made by Ukraine.
The Kursk offensive is also likely aimed at helping keep the west invested in the war as U.S. elections approach.
In terms of future progress, Russia may be following defense in depth more, ie. several defensive lines some distance behind the maximum extent of Ukrainian advances so far.
Two potential bargaining chips include the presence of the Kursk nuclear power station – since the Russians have occupied the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant since early on in the war, plus that some Russian units may be trapped to the west of the Kursk incursion and with the Seim River to their rear.
An interactive map of the Ukraine fronts is here.