Ukraine Launched Twin Assaults on Kursk and Belogrod: Why the Second Failed and Incurred in Heavy Losses

In parallel to a massive assault on Russia’s Kursk region involving over 15,000 personnel initiated on August 6, the Ukrainian Army has taken heavy losses in a failed simultaneous attack on Russia’s Belgorod Region. A report by the Washington Post has highlighted that there continues to be “fierce fighting underway” on the border, citing wounded Ukrainian personnel who have been evacuated from the frontlines to the Sumy region. The five day assault involved a “fleet of armoured vehicles [moving] in broad daylight,” one soldier stated, describing the operation as “crazy.”

The assault focused on the Kolotilovka–Pokrovka border crossing, but unlike in Kursk it was effectively repelled by Russian forces based in Belgorod. Ukrainian personnel interviewed stated that Russian defenders were well prepared, with the area heavily mined and fortified with ‘dragon’s teeth’ anti-tank obstacles. Ukrainian forces came under intense attack by Russian artillery, drones, and combat jets as soon as they came near the border. “All our group was injured the day we arrived,”one serviceman stated, with the seriousness of the situation being such that the dead had to be abandoned. 

On August 16 the Russian Defence Ministry reported that Ukraine has lost up to 2,860 servicemen and several hundred units of military hardware in the Kursk region over the previous ten days, including 41 tanks, 40 armoured personnel carriers, and three U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket artillery systems. These losses are particularly considerable in light of the fact that Ukraine has committed its most capable military assets to the offensive, including its scarce Challenger 2, T-80 and Leopard tanks. It has been speculated that the high attrition rates in elite units in Kursk could have a broader impact on the war effort should these forces be fully cut off and neutralised. The failure of the assault on Belogrod has reportedly allowed the Russian Armed Forces to focus considerably more attention and firepower on Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region, which have come under intensive bombardment including bombing raids, drone and helicopter strikes, and artillery bombardment.