Colonel Pavlo Roslach, commander for the 80th Separate Air Assault Galician Brigade told TSN that Ukrainian paratroopers infiltrated Russian areas two days prior to an operation in Russia‘s Kursk Oblast.
According to the commander, this allowed Ukrainian soldiers disrupt communications and disorient Russian troops.
Ukrainian forces launched their offensive against Russia’s Kursk Oblast, on 6 August. They reportedly wanted to destabilize Russian defences by forcing them away from critical fronts within Ukraine.
“My unit, which was one of the companies involved in the operation, crossed the border a couple of days before the start.” We hid in a forest and waited for the start of the action,” Rozlach explained.
The commander explained that the Ukrainian units entered Russia in small groups, each consisting of six people, and hid in the forest.
Rozlach’s company, during the operation, bypassed a Russian checkpoint and attacked a Russian strongpoint in the rear.
Ukrainian troops disrupted Russian communication systems. The commander said this action helped to disorient Russian forces.
Russian troops started shooting at each other due to poor communication. “This gave Ukrainian defenders a further advantage.”
He described the mission, saying the element of surprise was lost if the Russian troops detected the company at the right time.
Ukrainian forces are alleged to have seized 1,300 square kilometers (500 sq. miles) of land.
The Institute for the Study of War reported that Russian troops intensified their counterattacks on the 10-11th of October in the Kursk Oblast to push Ukrainian forces away before weather conditions deteriorated.
Oleksandr Sryskyi, the Commander-in Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF), said that Russia has deployed around 50,000 troops in the Kursk Oblast thereby weakening their positions on the front line in Ukraine.
Bloomberg reports that US officials estimate that Ukraine could hold territory in Russia’s Kursk Oblast at least for several months, if no longer.
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