Russian army command relocates forces from Ukraine to Kursk region - ISW

On August 24, commanders of the Russian 810th Marine Brigade, 155th Naval Infantry Brigade (Pacific Fleet, Eastern Military District), 11th Airborne (VDV) Brigade 56th VDV Regiment (7th VDV Division), and 51st VDV Regiment (106th VDV Division) reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin about combat missions on Russian territories bordering Ukraine, presumably referring to the Kursk region.

Earlier that day, Putin met with Russian Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov and Chief of the General Staff's Main Operations Directorate Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy. The meeting focused on discussing the Russian response to the Ukrainian invasion in the Kursk region.

The report notes that the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has observed the combat actions of the 810th Marine Brigade, 155th Naval Infantry Brigade, and 11th Airborne Brigade in the Kursk region. Evidence suggests that the Russian military command recently redeployed units of the 56th Airborne Regiment from the Robotyne area in western Zaporizhzhia to Kursk.

The Institute has not yet seen reports of the 51st Airborne Regiment’s units fighting in the Kursk region. However, the fact that the commander of the 51st Airborne Regiment informed Putin alongside commanders of other units that recently redeployed to Kursk suggests that the 51st Airborne Regiment’s units likely also moved to the area. Over the past months, the 51st Airborne Regiment has been fighting in the Severodonetsk direction alongside other units of the 106th Airborne Division.

Given the situation, ISW suggests that Russia has also redeployed units of the 810th and 155th Naval Infantry Brigade from the front line in northern Kharkiv and likely redeployed units of the 11th Airborne Brigade from the broader Chasiv Yar area.

"The Russian military command is resisting operational pressures to redeploy forces away from its high priority offensive effort to seize Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region and will likely continue to draw forces from lower priority offensive operations elsewhere throughout the theater to defend in the Kursk region," the report states.

Situation in the Kursk region

Since August 6, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been conducting a military operation in the Kursk region. The operation aims to push enemy forces away from the Sumy region border with Russia, establish a sanitary zone, and divert some troops from the front lines in Ukraine.

In the past 24 hours, Ukrainian troops have advanced between 1 and 3 kilometers and have taken control of two additional settlements.

In response, the Russian army has been shelling with artillery and dropping guided aerial bombs on settlements in the Kursk region.

According to reports, the US and the UK have provided the Ukrainian Armed Forces with satellite images of the Kursk region ahead of the offensive operation.