Kursk Infiltrated By 80th Air Assault Brigade 2 Days Before Main Attack

The elaborate planning that led to the success of Ukraine's Kursk offensive continues to impress. 

Infiltration of relatively large formations into Russia before the primary assault disabled key defenses, confused Russia defenders and disrupted communications. JL

Ukraine Pravda reports:

Paratroopers from Ukraine's 80th Air Assault Brigade infiltrated Kursk Oblast two days before the operation began, allowing them to disrupt the communication system and disorient Russian units. The troops bypassed a checkpoint and struck a Russian stronghold from the rear. This enabled Ukrainian engineering troops to create passages through the minefields. Two battalions then passed through the gap in the minefield 

Paratroopers from the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade of Ukraine’s Armed Forces managed to infiltrate Russian territory in Kursk Oblast two days before the operation began, allowing them to disrupt the communication system and disorient Russian units.

Source: Pavlo "Vedmid" (Bear) Rozlach, Commander of the 80th Separate Galician Air Assault Brigade, in an interview with TSN

Quote: "My unit, one of the companies, crossed the border two days before the operation. We hid in the forest, waiting for the action to begin. 

Our comrades-in-arms from the Special Forces managed to carry out a risky operation. Had the enemy discovered the company in time, the element of surprise would have been lost. I was very anxious that we wouldn't be spotted, but we moved the company in small groups of six, from one tree line to the next, taking cover in the forest."

Details: Rozlach describes how during the operation, his company bypassed a checkpoint and struck a Russian stronghold from the rear. This allowed the Ukrainian servicemen to successfully eliminate the threat and enabled the engineering troops to create passages through the minefields.

Quote: "Our fighters were able to infiltrate the enemy's rear and capture one stronghold, followed by another. Meanwhile, another company, having breached the minefields thanks to the engineers' work, managed to advance. Two battalions passed through the single gap in the minefield at the same time: one went straight, while the other turned left. After that, we secured the area, allowing the engineers to continue their work peacefully."

 

As known from open sources, the core of the Kursk operation consisted of two brigades of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, namely the 80th Brigade from Lviv and the 82nd Brigade from Chernivtsi, newly formed just last year. In the second week of the operation, part of the seasoned 95th Air Assault Brigade joined them.

• The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian troops intensified counterattacks in Russia’s Kursk Oblast on 10 and 11 October to try to push Ukrainian forces out before deteriorating weather conditions limit their manoeuvres on the battlefield.
• Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that Russia redeployed about 50,000 troops to its Kursk Oblast, weakening its position on the battlefield in Ukraine.
• Ukraine could potentially hold territory in Russia's Kursk Oblast for at least several months, if not longer, according to estimates from US officials, Bloomberg reports.