Posted on 01/09/2025 10:15:37 AM PST by marcusmaximus
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his generals have an artful knack for keeping the Russian military bear off-balance. On Sunday, they renewed their offensive in the Russian Kursk Oblast, once again catching the Russian high command, Kremlin, and many pundits by surprise.
Reports of a demoralized Ukrainian army fighting to retain terrain captured during the August Kursk offensive — of which at least 40 percent has been lost — have circulated among western media and Russian milbloggers since November.
So too reports that Ukraine’s 155th Mechanized Brigade — trained and equipped by France — was under-resourced in “first person view drones or sufficient[ly] trained pilots.” And that 50 soldiers had deserted the unit while training in France and another that 1,700 soldiers refused orders to transfer to the unit.
Nonetheless, as Gen. George Patton once said, “When in doubt, attack!” And that is exactly what Ukraine did, along three fronts — southern Berdin, central Russkoye Porechnoye and central Novosotnitsky.
Ukraine is using British supplied Challenger 2 tanks and extensive electronic warfare operations to blind Russian drones, allowing sappers to open lanes in minefields to facilitate their advance. The success or failure of the renewed offensive remains to be determined, but one thing is certain — it got the Kremlin’s attention.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Say it ain't so!!
Just last week, marcus's boys at NewsWeak, Brendan Cole and John Feng, were assuring us that the Ukrainians had recaptured lost positions in Chasiv Yar...
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-chasiv-yar-map-2007895
Al Jezeera reports from the Arab perspective: Russians in Kursk region ‘shaken’ as Ukraine launches new offensive
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/6/russians-in-kursk-region-shaken-as-ukraine-launches-new-offensive
Fans of Russian invasions need not worry about Kursk however. Supreme Leader Putin has ordered the Russian Military to liberate all of Kursk, by October 2024. That should do it.
Putin’s NORKS have flopped in their feeble attempts to take back Kursk.
Your side has been claiming the occupation of the ruins of Chasiv Yar for the past year and a half.
The videos of the NORKS getting slaughtered in Makhnovka are starting to appear. Brutal.
Uh-oh. Looks like it’ll be brutal for the Special Sock too.
Heavens to Murgatroyd!
Has the New Year rung in a Special North Korea Sock?
marcus’s poor mom!
What Toretsk doink?
Also, will you commit to staying until the bitter end of the conflict (which is probably within 90 days after Trump tells Zelensky what he will agree to).
You know several of us invested a lot of time in Reverend Mother and then one day: "poof", she was gone like a puff of smoke. All the brave talk, DONE. All the postings from weird sources in Switzerland: OVER.
We would really appreciate it if you stick around and take your licks after Ukraine surrenders, gives up 20% of it's territory, and Zelensky resigns (which he should do regardless, as he's ruling past his election mandate)
Cheers!
Has got kind of a catchy sound to it - in addition to all the other "stuff" that it is catching...
![]()
hummita hummita hummita Makhnovka!!!
What Special Nork Sock doink, marcus?
Laundry Day at the meghanmarklemus house sucks. 🧦
Cossacks vs. Muscovites, A pox on both barbarian tribes.
All is lost, Ukrainian troops fleeing into Russia, in such haste they are running over North Korean troops.
—
Reporting From Ukraine:
https://www.youtube.com/@RFU/videos
Reporting From Ukraine Uncensored Combat Footage (from this and past Reports) is found on Telegram:
https://t.me/RFUEnglish or @RFUEnglish
[ You need to have the Telegram app to view the larger videos. ]
The complete transcript.
—
[ No Survivors: North Koreans Try to Attack Tanks with AK-47s ]
Today [ Jan 09, 8 pm ], there are important updates from the Kursk direction.
Here, the ongoing battle in the Kursk region has seen Russian forces desperately attempting to halt the Ukrainian offensive at any cost, resorting once again to their North Korean allies for help.
This left Ukrainians unimpressed, as they steamrolled through another North Korean human wave, even after they ran out of ammunition.
The main Russian objective is to prevent Ukrainian forces from penetrating deeper into strategic areas, particularly the larger village of Bolshoye Soldatskoye. Should Ukrainians gain control of this settlement, they would solidify their hold over the salient, complicating Russian logistics and making counteroffensives even costlier and less effective.
This is because the many houses in Bolshoye Soldatskoye and the surrounding settlements, provide excellent concealment for both Ukrainian soldiers and their logistics, allowing them to spread out their forces more. The stakes are high, as Ukrainian consolidation in this area would make it significantly harder for Russian forces to slice off sections of the salient or encircle its northern part without incurring devastating losses.
To achieve this goal, Russian commanders urgently redeployed North Korean forces from positions near Novoivanovka and Kruglenkoe to the eastern side of the salient. These forces were thrown into a counteroffensive role in a bid to stall the Ukrainian advance.
This hasty redeployment highlights the growing desperation of Russian troops, who publicly say everything is under control, but continue to rely on inexperienced foreign units to bolster their severely depleted ranks.
Using North Korean infantry in mass wave attacks provides a temporary advantage to Russian forces. Though outdated, these “meat waves” can slow down the Ukrainian advance as clearing out these vast numbers from the area requires more time and effort. Such delay could allow Russian forces to deploy reinforcements, using Bolshoye Soldatskoye as a logistical hub. However, the disadvantages of this approach are stark.
North Korean units, already battered and understrength from previous engagements, also lack artillery and mechanized support, essential for sustained combat due to their improper integration into Russian forces. As a result, they were forced to rely on infantry assaults against well-prepared Ukrainian mechanized units, which was a strategy destined to fail.
Ukrainian forces capitalized on the weaknesses of the North Korean units. Equipped with advanced drone surveillance and electronic warfare systems, Ukrainian units meticulously dismantled enemy positions, and intercepted counterattacks with surgical precision.
North Korean units, already demoralized and poorly equipped, found themselves outmatched. Even in cases where Ukrainian units ran out of ammunition, they found a brutal solution.
One striking example comes from a geolocated video showing how a Ukrainian Stryker armored fighting vehicle, operated by the 80th Air Assault Brigade, is physically running over enemy soldiers after exhausting its ammunition. This bold maneuver underscored the disparity in combat effectiveness between the 2 sides, as even against Russian units, Ukrainians would immediately be targeted by FPV drones or anti-tank weapons.
The Ukrainian offensive in Kursk serves both military and political objectives. Militarily, the goal is to disrupt Russian operations around the Kursk salient and force Russia to divert troops from other critical fronts, such as Pokrovsk and Kurakhove. Politically, the offensive aims to expose the weakness of Russian authorities and create domestic discontent.
Each Ukrainian gain in Kursk is a symbolic blow to Russian leadership, undermining President Vladimir Putin’s image at home and abroad. Military experts estimate the operation’s objectives to be 30% military impact and 70% political impact, reflecting Ukraine’s strategic approach to warfare.
Overall, the repeated obliteration of North Korean units in Kursk exemplifies Ukraine’s ability to exploit Russian vulnerabilities, such as lack of support with artillery and mechanized vehicles, while maintaining momentum in its renewed offensive. The battle underscores Russia’s growing reliance on poorly supported units and the unsustainable nature of their defensive strategies.
This failure left the North Koreans isolated and vulnerable, reducing their role to little more than cannon fodder.
By advancing on Bolshoye Soldatskoye, Ukrainians threaten to reshape the tactical landscape and deliver a powerful political message; Russian forces are faltering, and their grip is not as strong as projected by the Kremlin.
>>>>You know several of us invested a lot of time in Reverend Mother and then one day: “poof”, she was gone like a puff of smoke. All the brave talk, DONE. All the postings from weird sources in Switzerland: OVER.<<<<
Currently, “REVEREND”-mommy spends her time trying to rehabilitate her highly tarnished FR persona as an anti-America, pro-Ukraine propagandist, by posting warm and fuzzy stuff on President Trump threads and prayer threads. Occasionally, just to remind fellow zeepers that the torch is still lit, she’ll post a long winded piece on Ukraine that she copied and pasted from some leftist/globalist source.
However, I’m certain if zeepers got together and threw a few
hryvnias her way, she’d be right back posting Ukrainian Government talking points and memos directly from the desk of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Name 1 Freeper who said YouCrayne was going to be defeated in 4 Weeks.
так сказал быдняк
Remember Denys Davydov?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.