Outnumbered 3 To 1 In Kursk, Ukrainians Counter, Pushing Russians Into Kill Zone

For all the Kremlin's mass of troops and equipment, the outnumbered Ukrainians have fought them to a standstill while inflicting catastrophic losses on Russian units. 

This is clearly Putin's last roll of the dice before he faces a Trump imposed ceasefire - and he's trying to make the most of it with the lives of whatever warm bodies his henchman can find. JL

David Axe reports in Forbes:

Incredibly, the outgunned Ukrainian brigades in Kursk aren’t just holding—they managed to organize a counterattack on Wednesday. Tanks and other forces from the 17th Heavy Mechanized Brigade, 21st Mechanized Brigade and 80th Air Assault Brigade advanced into the southern outskirts of Daryino on the southwestern edge of the salient.  If the Ukrainians hold Daryino, they close off secondary assault lanes for the attacking Russians and further channel them into the kill zone around Zelenyi Shylakh.

In early October, Russian regiments and brigades in western Russia’s Kursk Oblast launched a powerful offensive aimed at eliminating the 250-square-mile salient that Ukrainian forces carved out of the oblast in early August.

 

Incredibly, the outgunned Ukrainian brigades in Kursk aren’t just holding—they managed to organize a counterattack on Wednesday.

Tanks and other forces from no fewer than three units—the 17th Heavy Mechanized Brigade, 21st Mechanized Brigade and 80th Air Assault Brigade—reportedly advanced into the southern outskirts of Daryino, a hamlet in the no-man’s-land on the southwestern edge of the salient.

Apparently redeploying from its previous position around Novyi Put, 25 miles to the west, the 21st Mechanized Brigade rolled at least one of its few remaining German-made Leopard 2A6 tanks into Daryino. Ex-Soviet T-64s or T-72s from the recently reorganized 17th Heavy Mechanized Brigade joined the attack.

Russian drones swooped down, damaging at least one tank from each brigade. The crew of the Leopard 2A6 was observed bailing out of the burning vehicle. Firing back, the Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade knocked out at least two Russian BMD fighting vehicles, apparently from the 83rd Air Assault Brigade.

Daryino lies along the right flank of the Russian force—a quartet of airborne and marine regiments and brigades—sustaining the main thrust of the Russian offensive in Kursk. Shrugging off serious losses, the Russians have been sending assault group after assault group along the road through Zelenyi Shylakh, four miles north of Daryino.

Water obstacles stretching between Daryino and Zelenyi Shylakh limit the Russians’ space for maneuver. If the Ukrainians can hold Daryino, they could close off secondary assault lanes for the attacking Russians and further channel them into the kill zone around Zelenyi Shylakh.

 

It’s important not to overstate the scale of the Ukrainian assault on Wednesday. Elements of three brigades advanced at most just a few thousand feet—and may not have stayed. That the Ukrainians were able to counterattack at all is remarkable, however. Overall, Ukrainian troops are outnumbered three to one in Kursk.

That’s not an unfavorable ratio as long as the Ukrainians are defending from fortified positions and the Russians are attacking along open ground. In shifting to the attack, even briefly and on a small scale, Ukrainian forces rolled the dice. If it’s true they advanced into Daryino and remained there, their gamble may have paid off.