Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin
Some are perplexed. The Russian Ministry of Defense reports that from August 6 to 9, the enemy lost 945 people killed and wounded, while the General Staff stated that a group of up to 1,000 people with equipment invaded.
It appears, going by past posts on X and elsewhere that the Ukrainians committed parts of three combat brigades to this operation, which should be characterized as a punitive assault, with no real territorial objective.
Let me explain.
1. The General Staff's figure is an estimate - given the active work of electronic warfare, problems with communications and the lack of information about certain sections of the border, it is impossible to establish the number of personnel with an accuracy of one person. The initial figure of the invading enemy forces was estimated at up to 1,000 people. There is no exact information yet on how many the enemy was able to bring across the border in 3 days.
I am sure that the General Staff is now intensively collecting information on the enemy group and its capabilities for the purpose of its further defeat.
2. Secondly, these figures also include victims of massive missile and bomb strikes against the enemy in the Sumy region (I think everyone has seen footage of powerful VKS strikes).
The enemy acknowledges these casualties to a limited extent; blood is being actively collected in Sumy for a reason. So this takes into account the enemy's losses in both the Kursk and Sumy regions. There are more air strikes in Sumy right now.
The losses from these attacks will also be included in the total figure that the military will present tomorrow morning based on the results of today.
3. Thirdly, since August 6, following the forces that entered, the enemy continued to bring additional forces into the region to consolidate their positions in border villages, including engineering equipment. The enemy has several brigades and combined BTGr in the Sumy region, from which the enemy can pull up reinforcements across the border.
We will most likely learn the exact breakdown of forces and losses of the parties during the battle in the southern regions of the Kursk region after it is completed. The main thing now is to stabilize the situation and stop the enemy's initial success. Work on this is underway. Debriefings will also be held after the operation in the Kursk region is completed.
See the original post at the link for map graphics.
By 12 o'clock the situation remains difficult. It is too early to talk about stabilization of the situation.
There are unpleasant losses as a result of shelling of our columns, the enemy continues to try to develop the initiative in a number of areas.
At the same time, the situation in Sudzha has improved somewhat. Our troops are in the city and fighting there, also attacking on the flanks from Sudzha.
The broadcast of military operations in Ukraine (including battles in the Kursk region) as usual continues in Telegram https://t.me/boris_rozhin - who is interested, subscribe.
No need to whine that certain issues of the SVO are not covered in LiveJournal - those who do not have enough news on the SVO, go to Telegram - there on the 24/7 channel there are materials on the war in Ukraine in huge quantities.
More from Boris Rozhin:
According to Sudzha
At no point during the offensive since August 6 did the enemy fully control Sudzha.
The city was operationally surrounded by midday on August 7, due to the fact that mobile enemy groups that had slipped past the city began firing at cars on the highway, establishing local fire control over the roads, which was clearly visible in videos from civilians trying to enter or leave Sudzha.
Again, on August 7, there were already videos of objective control from drones confirming the presence of the enemy in Goncharovka (from where footage of Ukrainian Nazis looting later appeared) and in the western part of Sudzha. Objective facts confirming the complete capture of Sudzha never appeared.
After the entry of the "Aida" group and other units of the Russian Armed Forces (which are still working there), Sudzha is completely uncontrolled by anyone, there are some floating zones of control due to the limited forces in this area on both sides. In the city itself, meanwhile, since August 6, the presence of our military has remained, who for one reason or another did not withdraw from the city until the appearance of enemy mobile groups in the area of the roads leaving the city.
Today, the situation in the Sudzha area remains difficult, as well as in the city itself. Our specialists are working, this is not an easy job, but there are already successes, the enemy continues to suffer painful losses in the Sudzha area. It is necessary to intensify the defeat of identified enemy targets, reducing the time from receiving target designation to the strike by the Aerospace Forces or UAV operators.
The broadcast of military operations in Ukraine (including battles in the Kursk region) continues as usual in Telegram https://t.me/boris_rozhin - if you are interested, subscribe.
Even more from Boris Rozhin
About filming columns
Footage of the movement of columns of the Russian Armed Forces to the front in the Kursk region. For impressionable citizens - footage from the Russian Ministry of Defense is published by TV channel "Zvezda".
Ideally, if we are talking about publishing any footage of troop movements, it is advisable to post footage of columns after the movement is complete. I believe that in this case, footage is also provided with a delay. The troops moved, then uplifting videos appeared in the style of "Ours are coming."
It is worth remembering that the source of information about columns is not only videos from TV channels, bloggers or random citizens, but also the enemy's intelligence/technical reconnaissance, which provides target designation in the effective destruction zone. It can arrive without video, but it is better not to give the enemy additional information ahead of time. Any footage immediately ends up on the desk of Geosynthet specialists.
And most importantly, as they approach the front, it is better to split the columns (including during stops, avoiding crowding of equipment and personnel), so as not to lose too much equipment and people at once in the event of missiles arriving. The enemy will certainly try to inflict additional damage on us when moving reserves, which he of course tracks (including with the help of NATO satellites) and it is worth remembering that strikes can be without video.
Do not think that the enemy does not have its own ways to monitor our logistics without leaked videos, otherwise you will agree that in each arrival of a column moving without taking into account the experience of the SVO, a hyping blogger or a state TV channel will be to blame, and not enemy intelligence that caught our military or media people in one or another negligence with unpleasant consequences.
P.S., The reason for the squabble in Telegram about the video with footage of columns was the episode with the defeat of a column of the 44th Army Corps in the Rylsk area (more than 20 dead and several dozen wounded)
A truck borne rifle company.
The broadcast of military operations in Ukraine (including battles in the Kursk region) as usual continues in Telegram https://t.me/boris_rozhin - if you are interested, subscribe.
More from regnum.ru
Ministry of Defense: Attempts by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to break through to Kursk Region continue to be repelled
Moscow, August 9, 2024, 11:35 — IA Regnum. Over the past 24 hours, Russian military personnel have thwarted attempts by units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to break through deep into Russian territory in the Kursk region, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, said at a briefing on August 9.
“During the day, active actions by units of the North group of forces and the approaching reserves, strikes by army aviation, and artillery fire prevented attempts by enemy units to conduct raids deep into Russian territory,” the department’s statement said.
Konashenkov specified that the daily losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during attempts to attack the Kursk region amounted to 945 fighters. The department also reported that Russian aviation and missile forces struck the Ukrainian Armed Forces reserves in the Sumy region.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on August 6, Ukrainian formations attempted to break through to Russian territory in the Kursk region. The following day, the Ministry of Defense reported that Russian forces had prevented the enemy from advancing deep into the country.
Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin on August 7 that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had deployed up to 1,000 fighters to attack Kursk Oblast. According to him, the enemy's losses amounted to 315 soldiers and 54 armored vehicles. The Russian leader called the Ukrainian Armed Forces attack a large-scale provocation.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called on the international community to strongly condemn the Kiev regime’s criminal attacks on Russian territory.
More from Russian Spring (rusvesna.su)
"Why Ukraine's Generals Took the Excessive Risk of Invading Russia"
Even the Democratic Party mouthpiece CNN writes that Kiev's attack on the Kursk region with the remnants of its meager forces is the height of idiocy and an outright gesture of desperation.
"Kiev needed a victory, but not an adventure. Ukraine's decision to transfer a large number of its meager military resources across the borderwith Russia — in pursuit of headlines but, for now, with an unclear strategic purpose — marks a moment of either desperation or inspiration.
✔And it may herald a new phase of military conflict. Because, at least in Russia’s view, Ukraine’s regular army is preparing to attack Russia, a rare risk for a Ukrainian top leadership whose actions over the past 18 months have largely been criticized as too slow and conservative.
✔So why take this risk now? For the first time in the military conflict, there is talk of negotiations. Russia may be invited to attend the next peace conference hosted by Ukraine and its allies. The share of Ukrainians who favor negotiations, though a minority, is growing modestly. And the possibility of a Trump presidency looms over Kiev.
✔US Vice President Kamala Harris may retain the same steadfastness on Ukraine as President Joe Biden. But it is important to remember that Western foreign policy is a fickle and easily exhausted beast. NATO’s steadfast support for Ukraine has been an exception. And as the conflict approaches its fourth year, questions about how it will end will grow louder.
✔With the prospect of a negotiated settlement less remote, both sides will be looking to improve their positions on the battlefield before sitting down at the negotiating table.”