(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Russian stuff blowing up: Ukraine moves deeper into Kursk, takes hundreds of prisoners [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-08-08 Lots going on with Ukraine’s Kursk …. what shall we call it? … Offensive? Operation? Incursion? Raid? Ukraine’s Kursk operation is still on the move, reportedly taking the town of Sudzha, which is an important rail hub on the line that supplies Belgorod. Some reports say there are still pockets of Russian resistance in Sudzha. More than 300 Russian soldiers have surrendered to Ukraine. Whatever Ukraine’s goal is and however long they plan to stay in Kursk, it is obvious that this is more than a raid or an incursion. It is difficult to tell exactly how far Ukraine has gone because Ukraine’s military isn’t saying anything. But here are two attempts at a map: x I just posted a map update. It is really very, very conservative. pic.twitter.com/PsIicI8qeg — Andrew Perpetua (@AndrewPerpetua) August 8, 2024 This map shows Ukraine headed in the general direction of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. An earlier report said some male workers at the plant were scooped up to be sent to the front. Kursk NPP is 22 km away, the distance from our border is 38 km. x 👀 Актуальна карта просування ЗСУ у Курській області До Курської АЕС – 22 км, відстань від нашого кордону 38 км. pic.twitter.com/B5rGVm3ZCD — Сергій Нещадим (@nevedimka123) August 8, 2024 There are signs that Ukraine might be organizing another drive into the Kursk region north of where they are now. The small city of Hlukhiv is just across the border in Ukraine and Rylsk is a Russian town on the other side of the border. The highway that connects them leads straight to the city of Kursk. x New map update as of 14:00 from the Kursk region ➡️RU sources confirm AFU took control over Bogdanovka, Knyazhiy, 1st Knyazhiy and 2nd Knyazhiy ➡️AFU entered and grabbed a foothold in Myrnyi, the roundabout north of the town is contested. ➡️AFU is trying to encircle remaining… pic.twitter.com/g2jBGNGEvS — NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) August 8, 2024 Here is a view from a skeptical Ukrainian. x 4/ When it comes to response forces, Russia is likely to use its internal reserves located in Kursk, Moscow, Belgorod, Voronezh, and Rostov oblasts. We might also see units from the "North" grouping. The absence of a swift reaction shows that they were not informed or assembled — Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) August 7, 2024 5/ So far, there is no evidence of Russian forces slowing down their offensive operations in Donetsk Oblast, nor is there evidence that Russia is moving any reserves or units from the "Center" grouping of forces. This can change, but not at the moment, hence my skepticism. 6/ It's hard to gauge the moral blow to Russian society. Social media posts and influencers show they are unpleasantly shocked and clearly upset. However, it's uncertain how long this will last, as they quickly moved on from the losses of Kherson and the retreat from Kyiv Oblast 7/ Russia failed to identify this assault, showing a significant improvement in Ukrainian counterintelligence measures. Despite advanced ISR capabilities, Russian forces failed to interpret the concentration of Ukrainian forces as an offensive maneuver. 8/ I currently have serious reservations about the logistical capabilities needed to sustain deep advancements into Russian territory, as well as the ability to continuously support these forces with AD and EW. However, I will refrain from drawing conclusions at this moment. This is drawn from Russian blogger Rybar’s assessment of Ukraine’s tactics in this operation. The idea is to move as far and as quickly as possible, bypassing defenses and exploiting openings. This report would indicate that Ukraine has no plans to leave anytime soon. x A Russian channel says that Ukraine is building fortifications in Kursk oblast, particularly around Sudzha. 26/https://t.co/ilUyRuXgkI pic.twitter.com/cQyIKl7NN6 — Rob Lee (@RALee85) August 8, 2024 This report claims Ukraine has already gone past Malaya Lokna, which is north of Sudzha. x Two Russian battalions, the 17th battalion of the 488th regiment and the 31st battalion of the 102nd brigade, are reportedly encircled near Sudzha. Z-bloggers claim that the command is aware of the situation but is not taking action. — NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) August 8, 2024 This is a good point and might be the ultimate outcome of this operation — to weaken Putin politically. Even if Ukraine withdrew all forces right now, this is a devastating blow to Putin. x I think it is pretty clear that Russia is solidly fucked at this point, and there is basically nothing that could happen from this point forward that will ever save face and make up for what has happened already. Even if Ukraine withdrew all forces right now, this is a… — Andrew Perpetua (@AndrewPerpetua) August 8, 2024 But these Russians from Sudzha haven’t learned anything yet. They think they can make a video appeal and Putin will ride to their rescue. x Traditional plea to Putin - this time from residents of Sudzha, Kursk region of Russia. Like I said - they're not asking to stop the war. And they are continuing to address Putin like their tsar. https://t.co/3QQCKzv3se pic.twitter.com/IrQwgBTNlh — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 8, 2024 These residents of the Kursk region are SHOCKED 😱 that Russian TV would lie to them. x “They're lying on TV! Lying bastards! They pin medals on themselves! People are evacuating themselves!” I am shocked…how is it possible they are lying on TV?! 😱😱😱#Sudzha#KurskPeoplesRepublic pic.twitter.com/eMaW2Vqa8c — Aurora Borealis 🤫 (@aborealis940) August 8, 2024 Russia is scrambling to come up with a response. The enemy has begun to form reserves for a counterattack near Sudzha: it is moving some units from Belgorod to Kursk, "Mykolaiv Vanek". Representatives of airfield maintenance personnel and air defense troops are being sent to the infantry. The goal is to assemble a group of about 2,000 soldiers as quickly as possible, to prevent the Ukrainian Armed Forces from gaining a foothold and to take back what has been lost. The Russians are also bringing in additional missiles, including ballistic missiles recently received from North Korea. x Kursk situation update There is already the first "cauldron" in Suja: 2 battalions of the Russian army are surrounded, - russo-publics. According to preliminary information, these are the 17th Battalion of the 488th Regiment and the 31st Battalion of the 102nd Brigade. The… pic.twitter.com/FDyu8ocfQA — Slava 🇺🇦 (@Heroiam_Slava) August 8, 2024 Russian conscripts continue to surrender in droves. x According to information from my acquaintances who take part in the operation to liberate the Kursk People's Republic, about 300 Russian soldiers were captured during the 2 days of the operation. The enemy is poorly motivated and has no combat experience. Surrender and you will… pic.twitter.com/VfdiZBaQch — Cloooud |🇺🇦 (@GloOouD) August 7, 2024 x ⚡️🇺🇦Ukrainian soldiers report a large number of 🇷🇺Russian prisoners in the Kursk region. There are reports of problems with transport to transport the prisoners due to their numbers pic.twitter.com/7nAufZeGSF — 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@front_ukrainian) August 8, 2024 Ukraine restocking its supply of trade bait. In this post DPRK is not a reference to North Korea, but a trolling reference to the new Democratic People’s Republic of Kursk. Another thing that is popping up on social media like mushrooms after a rainstorm are comments like this: x Russia should quickly cede their territory to Ukraine and negotiate to avoid needless bloodshed https://t.co/d8PjeL3Qhk — Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini) 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇮🇱 (@AdamKinzinger) August 8, 2024 Meanwhile, over in the People’s Republic of Belgorod. x Explosions reported in Bilhorod. There is a fire near the Kreyda train station. pic.twitter.com/cpF6RXdHwf — NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) August 8, 2024 Another 1,140 Russians off the battlefield. x Russia's estimated losses on day 897 of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine include over 1,100 personnel, 36 artillery systems, 2 tanks, and 9 armored vehicles, according to the Ukrainian Army's General Staff. pic.twitter.com/9cCT6sUlTt — Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) August 8, 2024 I haven’t seen many of these — a drone strike on a Russian train. x A drone strike on a Russian train carrying supplies for Russian troops. Great work by Roniny drone unit of the 65th Brigade of the AFU. A moving train is a challenging target. But it's worth the extra work as trains carry thousands of tons of cargo, so such strikes cause… pic.twitter.com/OZTHkBq1HR — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 7, 2024 Because God will no doubt want to help Russia exterminate Ukrainians, bomb kindergartens and hospitals and lay waste to towns. x Russian propagandist Simonyan announced a prayer day: "Let's all pray. Everyone pray," she wrote on her Telegram channel. pic.twitter.com/SCGqHdrvUb — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 7, 2024 Russia is so terrified of calling a mobilization draft to fill its army ranks that it is willing to send soldiers with specialized skills, even doctors, to the front. x 1/ Russian sources say that soldiers with rare specialities, such as tank drivers, UAV operators or even anaesthesiologists, are being sent to fight in the front lines and serve as stormtroopers. This is reportedly being caused by a severe shortage of assault troops. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/eOPLJFXoUt — ChrisO_wiki (@ChrisO_wiki) August 8, 2024 2/ The Russian blogger Anastasia Kashevarova says there is a "huge problem" with the "transfer of fighters with rare specialities to the [assault units of] the motorised riflemen." 3/ Kashevarova writes: "We receive letters with tragic stories about talented UAV operators, RPG operators, tankers, who were transferred to the storm troops on the same day and died on their very first mission. 4/ "And the problem is not that they failed to complete the assault mission, but that due to this practice, the number of soldiers with specialities is decreasing, and it takes time to train a new tanker or drone operator. 5/ "At the same time, it is obvious that there is not an oversupply of servicemen with such specialities.There are also more egregious cases. For example, we had to deal with a situation where an anaesthesiologist was sent to the front lines, where he was digging trenches. His crew left him there. x Russian war propagandist Yengeniy Poddubny has been transported to Moscow for intense care. Z-channels on Telegram now tell that immediately following a Ukrainian FPV strike on his car, his TV crew was sure Poddubny was dead, so they left him behind. Thus, he was widely… pic.twitter.com/sgAAoIZcmv — Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) August 8, 2024 Big bavovna/turret toss. x Insane turret toss of Russian tank pic.twitter.com/zyBOsszO7c — Slava 🇺🇦 (@Heroiam_Slava) August 8, 2024 When drones compete over who gets to blow up the Russian dude. x 2 FPV drones arrived at the same time on Russo fighter pic.twitter.com/CJevxcW7p0 — Slava 🇺🇦 (@Heroiam_Slava) August 7, 2024 Just don’t spill the coffee. No word yet on whether Combat Cats are being deployed to the Kursk region yet. 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