Forbes: Russian forces stage Groundhog Day under Ukrainian drones in Kursk

Fifteen out of sixteen Russian attacks failed to gain ground in Kursk Oblast on Saturday, according to Forbes.

Kursk Oblast, a Russian region bordering Ukraine, has emerged as a critical battleground since Ukrainian forces seized a 1,000-square-kilometer salient in August 2024. Control of this territory could prove to be a significant bargaining chip in any future peace negotiations, as it represents an internationally recognized Russian territory.

“Russian air assault forces attacked the Ukrainian garrison, rolling eight BMD infantry fighting vehicles along the very same roads—around the village of Viktorovka—they’ve been using since November,” Forbes’ war correspondent David Axe reports.

The Russian 234th Air Assault Regiment lost half their force near Viktorovka, prompting a Ukrainian drone operator to question the tactics.

“I really do not understand the point of attacking at the place where they attack for the third month,” said Kriegsforscher, a Marine Corps operator.

The failed offensive has taken a devastating toll. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reports that the combined Russian-North Korean force of 60,000 has suffered approximately 35,000 casualties trying to reclaim the salient from 20,000 Ukrainian defenders.

The latest operations around Viktorovka resulted in minimal gains, with the Ukrainian 6th Ranger Regiment maintaining control of most of the village despite Russian pressure. Amid mounting losses, reports indicate an escalation in war crimes by Russian forces. Marines from the Russian 155th Naval Infantry Brigade reportedly decapitated four Ukrainian prisoners and displayed their heads on pikes.

“If history is any guide, the Russians’ crimes will fail to demoralize the Ukrainians. Indeed, they tend to have the opposite effect,” Axe notes.

He notes that when the same brigade executed nine Ukrainian prisoners in October, it triggered a series of retaliatory raids specifically targeting the 155th Brigade, during which Ukrainian forces took no prisoners.

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