The Russians achieved this by using unmanned aerial vehicles that were resistant to jamming systems. The FPV drones they used were not controlled by radio, but rather via a fiber optic cable. Just like the 9M14 Malyutka missiles developed in the 1960s.
This is due to the weakness of Russian communications systems, which are susceptible to the operation of Ukrainian radio-electronic warfare systems. In this way, the Russians are trying to counter the technological advantage of their adversaries. And the Ukrainians continue to advance.
Ukrainians are taking small steps
The pace of the offensive has slowed to approximately 4-5 km of captured terrain per day. The Ukrainians now control approximately 1,200 square kilometers of Kursk Oblast and have penetrated to a depth of over 35 km.
In the north, the Ukrainians have not yet managed to break through Kromskie Byki on the Suja-Kursk highway. Here, soldiers of the 82nd Independent Assault Brigade stopped near the village of Martynowka. They are still trying to bypass the Russian positions from the west along the road leading to Łgov. At this point, the main forces stopped near the village of Malaja Loknya. However, they managed to advance towards Łgów along roads leading further west, towards the village of Kauczuk and the Alekseevsky farm.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian reconnaissance leaders were near Łgov. This proves that the Russian defense is rather weak and the Ukrainians can bypass Russian defensive positions through secondary routes.
They do this quite effectively not only in the direction of Łgów, but also near Koroniew, where units of the 22nd Independent Mechanized Brigade began to enter the city from the western side as well, slowly isolating the defenders from the rear.
Ukrainian forces were also located in Belgorod Oblast in the village of Vyazovoye, which is approximately 35 km southeast of Suja and approximately 70 km from Belgorod.
Ukraine provides humanitarian aid
The Ukrainians claimed that they had already occupied such a large area of the Kursk region that they had appointed a military governor. The position was taken by Major General Edward Moskalaev, who until February last year was the commander of the Combined Armed Forces of Ukraine. Now he was in charge of organizing administration and humanitarian aid.
The Ukrainians approached this issue very sensibly, inviting journalists to the occupied territories. They showed the Suja residents that they could not be evacuated. Left alone, they emphasized that the Russian soldiers had abandoned them and that the Ukrainians were very friendly and helpful.
There is information that the houses were not destroyed, the Ukrainian authorities provided humanitarian aid and helped to clean up the destruction after the hostilities. Several interlocutors added that they were Ukrainians who simply became citizens of the Russian Federation after the collapse of the USSR.
This is a nice gift for Ukrainian propaganda, which can now start playing the same card the Kremlin has been using against Ukraine for over a decade. The photos of Ukrainian aid also look great when contrasted with photos of Russian soldiers robbing stores and taking washing machines, refrigerators and toilet seats from homes.
What does Kremlin propaganda do?
Moscow has also stepped up its propaganda activities, especially since it slept through the first days of the operation, pretending that nothing was happening. Now that the Russians have lost control of their own territory, hundreds of recruits and Kadyrovtsy have been taken prisoner, and tens of thousands of internally displaced people have appeared and are posting messages full of sadness and despair on social networks, the authorities could not ignore the events.
There are more and more messages on social media that “it is not the Ukrainian armed forces that are attacking, but disguised NATO soldiers, including Polish mercenaries, who have entered the Russian Kursk Oblast”. The latter is understandable because the Russians have had trouble distinguishing between the Ukrainian and Polish languages since the beginning of the conflict, and besides, the 22nd Brigade, which is attacking at the peak, is equipped with Polish-made tanks.
The Kremlin had to use such a narrative because for more than two years it has been feeding its citizens with information that it is winning a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Now the Ukrainians, who have been belittled for years, cannot win.
Russian trolls have gone on the rampage, posting photos of dead Ukrainian soldiers and destroyed equipment. They not only use real footage, but also prepare edited photos.
However, at this stage it is very difficult to seize the initiative in the information war. The Kremlin propaganda department has missed the opportunity.
