Ukraine's Kursk offensive: Elite brigades face mounting challenges
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine released a short video showing the "road of death" near Kursk. The 14.5-kilometre-long path is densely littered with remnants of Russian equipment, for the elimination of which one of the elite Ukrainian brigades deployed to support the offensive in the Kursk region is responsible.
"This path is covered with destroyed enemy equipment, a burnt-out trail left by the enemy in defeat. Paratroopers and other units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine systematically destroyed enemy military equipment, leaving only ashes and debris," was written on the social media profile of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on X.
The Road of Death near Kursk
For the offensive in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian command deployed several units considered the best-equipped and well-trained. These primarily include the 80th Air Assault Brigade, the 22nd Mechanised Brigade, and the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, often called the elite.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade's equipment largely consists of gear provided to the front by NATO countries. This includes multipurpose vehicles such as the HMMWV and Stryker M1132, German infantry fighting vehicles Marder, and British Challenger 2 tanks.
Challenger 2 entered the Kursk region
The Challenger 2 is one of the rarest NATO tanks to appear on the front. This is because Ukraine received only 14 of these machines. However, they are a significant reinforcement of the Ukrainian army. They are distinguished mainly by the multi-layer Chobham/Dorchester armour, which, when introduced to service, was considered the most resilient tank in the world. In the context of the offensive, it also offers a rifled L30A1 120 mm gun and two 7.62 mm machine guns.
From the video shared by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the 14.5-kilometre stretch of road in the Kursk region is marked by remnants primarily of older Russian tanks. However, wrecks such as T-72s and armoured personnel carriers from the BTR family and infantry fighting vehicles are also visible. The scale of destruction includes about 200 various types of Russian constructions.
The problems for Ukrainians in the Kursk region are increasing
Observers of the war in Ukraine and analysts, including those from ISW, believe that the Russians will do everything to push Ukrainians out of their country before late autumn/early winter.
Quite unexpectedly, they are managing to push harder not only due to the use of newer armoured equipment, such as T-90M tanks considered the best in the Russian army that are appearing in the Kursk region, but also due to the use of drones controlled via fibre-optic cables, which are not susceptible to electronic warfare systems.
