Ukrainian forces slow advance in Kursk region, stabilize situation – ISW

According to Russian military bloggers, the pace of Ukrainian attacks in the Kursk region has slowed. Ukrainian forces are working to hold and fortify the areas they have recently captured.

Other military bloggers have reported that Russian troops are gradually stabilizing the situation in Kursk. Geolocated footage released on August 28 shows Russian forces operating in the eastern village of Korenevo. This indicates that Ukrainian forces have likely recently withdrawn from this area, allowing Russian troops to regain some lost positions.

One Russian military blogger claimed that Ukrainian forces have advanced beyond the villages of Vetreno, Kremyanskoye, and Sheptukhovka (all east and northeast of Korenevo), within western Nechayev and eastern Cherkasskoye Porechnoye (both northeast of Sudzha), and in the fields south of Spalnoye (southeast of Sudzha).

Russian bloggers assert that elements of the Russian 810th Naval Infantry Brigade (Pacific Fleet, Eastern Military District [EMD]) have cleared Spalnoye and restored control over the settlement.

The Russian Ministry of Defense and other Russian sources claim that Ukrainian forces have also attacked east of Korenevo near Olgovka, north of Sudzha near Malaya Loknya, east of Sudzha near Russkaya Konopelka, and southeast of Sudzha near Borki.

Meanwhile, another Russian blogger reported on August 28 that Russian forces repelled Ukrainian attempts to cross the international border near Zhuravlevka in the Belgorod region (southwest of Belgorod and north of Kharkiv).

photo: Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region as of August 28, 2024 (ISW map)

Reinforcements with conscripts in the Kursk region

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, Chechen Akhmat Spetsnaz Commander Apty Alaudinov, and other Russian sources have acknowledged that conscripts are fighting in the Kursk region.

Russian opposition outlet Mobilization News reported that the Russian military plans to deploy conscripts from the 290th Missile Regiment (7th Missile Corps, 27th Missile Army, Strategic Missile Forces) and 2187th VDV Regiment (98th VDV Brigade) to the Kursk region.

Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region

Since August 6, the Ukrainian military has been conducting operations to capture and control settlements in the Kursk region. The aim is to establish a buffer zone on the border of the Sumy region with Russia and to draw some enemy forces away from the front lines in Ukraine.

As of today, Ukrainian forces control 100 settlements in the Kursk region and have taken around 600 Russian soldiers as prisoners.

In response, Russian forces have been compelled to redeploy 30,000 troops to Kursk.

There is a possibility that Ukrainian forces could gain control over the entire Glushkovo district.