The symbol used by Ukrainian forces has been spotted in different areas around the Kursk region. In the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, a T-64 tank was spotted with a triangle painted on its front armor.
More than 20 kilometers in Russian territory, tanks and other armored vehicles have also been spotted with a white triangle. When the Ukrainians entered the village of Guevo to replace the Russian flag with their own, the jeep they used also had a white triangle.
Some have already dubbed this first invasion of Russian territory since World War II “Operation Triangle,” according to The Telegraph.
This combat marking was first observed in June. It was used by the group of forces of the Western operational command stationed at the border with Belarus.
Ukrainian sources say the tactical tagging is nothing more than a way for Kiev’s forces to avoid friendly fire when operating behind enemy lines in quick and chaotic missions.
Such marking is a common part of modern warfare, especially when both sides use much of the same equipment and wear similar uniforms. Ukrainian forces wear yellow or blue tape strips on their uniforms and helmets.
Meanwhile, in 2022 As Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February, its tanks and armored vehicles were emblazoned with the Z symbol, which has become synonymous with support for Vladimir Putin’s war.
Panika Belgorod
A week has passed since the start of the attack on Ukraine, and panic has spread to the neighboring Belgorod region. Its governor announced that residents of the Krasnaya Yaruga district on the border with Ukraine would be evacuated due to military operations.
Belgorod borders the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces attacked on August 6. started a border raid. On Monday, the state news agency Tass reported that 11,000 people had been evacuated from the region. people.
“It was a worrying morning,” said Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. “The enemy was active on the border of the Krasnaya Yaruga district.”
Russian sources said Ukrainian troops attacked the Kolotilovka checkpoint, which separates Ukraine’s Sumy and Russia’s Belgorod regions, early Monday morning. Ukrainian troops are said to have shelled the checkpoint using armored vehicles, tanks and artillery.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian reserves waited in the rear, near the village of Pokrovka, ready to join the fight as a second-echelon force if a breakthrough was made.
“Apparently, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are not abandoning their plans to stretch our defensive lines, create as many tension points as possible and try to break through to the east in order to cut off Belgorod from the north,” Rybar, an authoritative Russian military blogger, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Couldn’t stop the breakthrough
The fighting is taking place in Kolotilovka, about 40 kilometers south of Suja, where Ukrainian forces have been advancing since last Tuesday in a surprise cross-border attack.
Kursk Oblast Governor Alexey Smirnov told Putin on Monday that Kiev controls 28 villages and towns in the region. According to him, the controlled territory was 12 kilometers deep and 40 kilometers wide.
“From today, 121 thousand people left and were evacuated”, said the official and added that another 59 thousand people have to leave the area. On Monday, Russian authorities were setting up “safe zones” for residents of Kursk displaced by the fighting.
Russia has mobilized reserves in recent days to try to stop the outbreak, but on Sunday its military admitted that Ukraine had in some places entered 40 kilometers into Russian territory.
On Monday, the commander of the Ukrainian army said that the country’s forces occupied a total of about 1,000 square kilometers.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said many of the Russian response forces were hastily assembled and included units with poor combat readiness. Ukrainian soldiers, equipped with high-end night vision goggles, conducted several raids under the cover of darkness.
Geolocated battlefield footage by ISW analysts showed they had advanced west and northwest in areas where Russian sources said the situation had stabilized.
Russia’s defense ministry said on Monday it had killed 260 Ukrainian soldiers and destroyed 31 armored vehicles, including a tank and eight US-made Bradley fighting vehicles. This information has not been independently verified.
In Ukraine, the battle sparked rare joy among an increasingly war-weary population.
“The best-case scenario for Ukraine would probably be that Russia decides that it is unacceptable to leave any territory in Ukrainian hands and, regardless of losses, will divert significant resources from even the most critical areas and seek to retake every square kilometer.
This would make the Russians very sick, relieve pressure in other directions, and perhaps even give the Ukrainians an opportunity to improve their tactical position in the east.
Regardless of whether the Ukrainians advance further, they have proven that occupying relatively large territories is no longer Russia’s prerogative. The war is now also on the territory of Russia,” open source intelligence analyst Emil Kastehelmis explained to The Telegraph.
Parengta pagal „The Telegraph“ inf.
2024-08-14 09:35:50