Russian troops will face big challenges during the counteroffensive in Kursk region: ISW assessed the situation. Map

Russian "war correspondents" and the Ministry of Defence have claimed that dozens of settlements in the Kursk Region that were under the control of Ukrainian forces have been recaptured. These claims have not yet been confirmed, although the Russians are making slight progress and it will be slower, and slower from here.

Ukrainian soldiers not only held the defense but also crossed the border in another place in the Kursk region. This is the subject of a new piece by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

On September 12, Russian troops continued their counteroffensive in Kursk region that began on the night of September 11. Referring to geolocation footage, analysts stated that the Russians managed to make a slight advance west of Vishnevka and in the northern part of Krasnooktyabrsky (both settlements are located southwest of Korenevo).

At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense boasted of having "reflected" 10 settlements south and southwest of Korenevo since the beginning of the counteroffensive. Among them, the occupiers named Apanasovka, Byakhovo, Vishnevka, Viktorovka, Vneszapnoye, Gordeevka, Krasnooktyabrskoye, Obukhovka, Snagost and 10th October.

"All of these localities are within the existing declared limit of the Russians' advance, and ISW does not yet have visual confirmation that Russian forces have recaptured any of these localities, except parts of Snagosti and Krasnooktyabrskoye," ISW clarified.

At the same time, Russian "war correspondents" claimed that the Russian army was advancing southeast of Korenevo and northeast of Snagosti; there is no evidence of these advances yet.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks and also continued advancing beyond the protrusion and reached the Glushkovsky district.

For example, geolocation footage from September 12 indicates that Ukrainian infantry crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border and reached the southwestern part of Tetkino (about 40 kilometers southwest of the current Ukrainian bulge in the Kursk region).

The analysts also found additional geolocation footage published on September 12 that shows Ukrainian armored vehicles and infantry bypassing Russian anti-tank obstacles (the so-called "dragon's teeth") on the Russian-Ukrainian border southwest of Novy Put (southwest of Glushkovo) without encountering any opposition, which, according to ISW experts, indicates that "Ukrainian forces have advanced in the area and that Russian forces were not prepared to use obstacles to repel cross-border Ukrainian attacks."

Some Russian sources, meanwhile, reported that the Ukrainians were conducting assaults near Novy Put and Medvezhye (southeast of Glushkovo), Snagosti, Olgovka (east of Korenevo), and Fanaseyevka (southeast of Sudzha).

According to ISW's observations, the Russians have managed to recapture about 58 square kilometers of those territories where Ukrainian troops have "flashed" or claimed to be Ukrainian-controlled. However, these territories lie outside the protrusion that Ukrainian forces controlled according to ISW estimates.

Analysts add that Ukrainian soldiers in the forward areas of the Kursk territory they controlled were not heavily entrenched, allowing the Russians to achieve the advance. However, when Russian troops reach the areas where the Ukrainians have prepared to meet them, Russian counterattacks will be much less successful than they have been so far.

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