Russian army conducts assault operations in Kursk region, intensifies offensive with use of equipment in Kupyansk sector. Serhiy Zgurets’ column

Ukraine to receive up to 20 Mirage-2005 fighters from France

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues his visit to European countries. Germany announced another important military aid package. The President of Ukraine was in France to discuss the details of the victory plan and expand cooperation. Among other things, it is known that France is going to provide Ukraine with Mirage fighter jets in the first quarter of 2025. A number of Ukrainian media outlets, citing the French newspaper La Tribune, reported that France intends to provide Ukraine with 12 to 20 Mirage-2005 fighters. However, in fact, France has 26 such aircraft, of which only 20 are in good condition. Some of these aircraft are currently undergoing modernization to enable them to use air-to-ground guided weapons. It is expected that Ukraine will actually receive up to 20 Mirage-2005 fighters. Now the main question is how many pilots can master these aircraft. We know that Ukraine's pilots are currently being trained in France. It is the number of pilots that will determine how many of these aircraft Ukraine will be able to receive.

Russian troops are conducting assault operations in the Kursk region

There were a number of reports about what is happening on the front line in the Kursk region. Since August 6, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been conducting offensive operations in the Kursk region. This is a rather high-profile and difficult operation. We know that during this time, Russia has been able to build up a group of troops to deter the Ukrainian army. In particular, from 10 to 50 thousand troops. There was information that the Russians launched another counterattack in this area of the front. In fact, they are focusing their efforts on the road leading from Korenevo to Sudzha. It was on this section of the frontline in the direction of Lyubimovka that the Russians launched an offensive yesterday with the help of a marine brigade that tried to break through to Lyubimovka, cross the road and continue to move further east.

Deepstate reported that the day before yesterday was a very difficult day for the Ukrainian troops in this section of the frontline. In particular, in the area of Novoivanovka, which is already beyond this highway. It is worth emphasizing that cutting this road threatens the supply of the entire part of the bridgehead where Ukrainian troops are stationed. In particular, Deepstate said that Ukraine's artillery and UAV operators had to engage in combat. Russia managed to accumulate a lot of forces and equipment in this area. This morning, Russian propaganda channels reported that Ukrainian positions had been cut and Lyubimovka had been successfully stormed. Later, new details began to emerge. It is now known that the Defense Forces took measures to destroy Russian equipment as much as possible. At least 15 of the 30 vehicles that were advancing on Lyubimovka were destroyed. Now Ukrainian analysts say that in the Kursk region, the Defense Forces are significantly restraining Russia's advance. Therefore, the situation on this section of the front will be determined in the next few days.

The Russian army is conducting constant assault operations near Vovchansk to prevent the transfer of Ukrainian units to other parts of the frontline

Vitalii Lytvyn, an intelligence department officer of the Rubizh brigade of Ukraine's National Guard, said that his unit is participating in battles along the front line from the Kharkiv to Lyman directions, as well as in the Siversk direction. Lytvyn said that the occupation forces continue to conduct several assaults every day in the area of Vovchansk. Russia is doing this to prevent the Ukrainian Defense Forces from redeploying troops to more active areas on the front line. The officer noted that despite the active round-the-clock assault operations, the quality of the personnel of the Russian occupation army is very low. However, they are constantly training in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. These trained soldiers then immediately reinforce the losses of their assault groups. According to Lytvyn, the last captured and killed Russian soldiers did not even have a stamp in their military ID cards about being enrolled in a military unit. They are immediately thrown to storm Ukrainian positions after training. However, the number of such low-quality personnel allows Russia to constantly conduct active assault operations. In this way, they deplete the Ukrainian units that hold the first line of defense. For this purpose, they also actively use artillery and a large number of drones.

Russians have begun to use heavy armored vehicles more actively for assault operations in the Kupyansk sector

Vitalii Lytvyn also spoke about one of the assaults in the Kupyansk sector. Units of the Bureviy Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard together with the 77th Brigade destroyed a large number of vehicles. The Russians used 50 units of armored vehicles in this assault. In particular, T-72 tanks, MT-LBs, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers. Russia's equipment was detected earlier and some of it was destroyed by artillery fire and drones. The offensive pace was reduced and the Russian units retreated. According to Lytvyn, this is an indicator that the Russian brigade and army corps commanders who are performing tasks in the Kupyansk sector are under a deadline. In particular, they have deadlines by which they need to reach certain frontiers. For example, they wanted to take the town of Siversk by the end of spring. We know it from radio intercepts and interrogations of prisoners. They did not succeed, but they do not abandon their intentions to capture the city. Lytvyn noted that a month ago, the Russian soldiers did not actively use equipment for assault operations in the Kupyansk sector. Now they have started to actively use equipment, as the command requires them to seize territories within a certain time frame. So far, they have failed to achieve their goals. However, as Lytvyn noted, they continue to rely on superiority in personnel and a large number of vehicles.

Vitalii Lytvyn noted that as the rains approach, the Russian troops may use less equipment, but this also makes it difficult for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to move. The soil in eastern Ukraine also has its own specifics. It is mostly clay, so any heavy armored vehicles cannot move on such soil during rains. This factor also indicates why the Russian forces are in such a hurry. Because later they will not be able to use such equipment as actively.

Due to the active work of reconnaissance drones, Russia has intensified artillery fire in all directions

Vitalii Lytvyn also explained the active use of artillery by the Russian enemy. Recently, Russia has significantly intensified artillery fire in almost all areas of the frontline. According to Lytvyn, this is due to the fact that Russia troops are actively using tactical UAVs for reconnaissance and adjustment of artillery fire. These tools allow them to use artillery more actively and accurately. Lytvyn also said that in the Kursk region and Kharkiv region, the occupation forces began using fiber-optic drones. This indicates that they cannot use drones with analog and digital communications, as Ukrainian electronic warfare equipment effectively jams them. Therefore, they are looking for a way out and have started using fiber-optic drones because they are not affected by electronic warfare.