By Smartencyclopedia & Agencies
Kursk, 9 August 2024 — A video circulating on Russian pro-war Telegram channels appears to show the aftermath of a significant Ukrainian strike on a Russian military column in the Kursk region, with speculation suggesting the involvement of U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) in the attack. This footage emerged on the third day of Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region, which began with a cross-border armored assault on Tuesday.
According to investigative Russian outlet Agentstvo, Ukrainian forces have gained control of at least 166 square miles of Russian territory—an area roughly equivalent to New Orleans. The Russian military column, reportedly attacked in the village of Oktyabrskoye, lies approximately 5 miles from Rylsk. Some reports indicate that Ukraine may be aiming to capture Rylsk, a strategic location west of Kurchatov, where the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant is situated.
Russian Telegram channels have suggested that the HIMARS system was used in the attack. The Truexa News channel claimed, “A column of Russian equipment was destroyed by a HIMARS strike in the Kursk region.” Videos purportedly showing the charred remains of Russian vehicles on a roadside have been widely shared, though Newsweek could not independently verify the use of HIMARS in the Kursk region.
The Biden administration confirmed on Thursday that Ukraine was authorized to use U.S.-supplied weapons as part of its operations in Kursk. Sabrina Singh, Deputy Press Secretary at the U.S. Department of Defense, stated, “We have supported Ukraine from the very beginning to defend themselves against attacks that are coming across the border and for the need for crossfires. Their actions are within the U.S. policy regarding where our weapons and systems can be used.”
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, assessed that the Kremlin will likely seek to reclaim Russian territory lost to Ukrainian forces and halt further Ukrainian advances into Russia. The ISW report noted that significant Ukrainian progress within Russian borders would undermine Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to establish a legacy of stability and geopolitical resurgence for Russia.
Agentstvo further reported that in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces breached two major lines of Russian fortifications in the Kursk region. These defensive lines, which took Russia over two and a half years and more than $170 million to construct, were built by the Russian Defense Ministry and Federal Security Service (FSB) following Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
As the conflict continues, the situation in Kursk remains fluid, with both sides mobilizing resources and responding to the rapidly evolving battlefield dynamics.