Colonel Khodarenok allowed the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the Kursk region during the capture of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Pokrovsk
The American mercenary spoke about the "chaos" in the battles in the Kursk region and the cancellation of the operation of the AFU snipers. At the same time, the commander of the Akhmat special forces, Major General Apti Alaudinov, said that the Ukrainian army had suffered heavy losses in the Russian region during the day and was reviewing its action plan. What is happening in the Kursk region now and how the situation will develop - the military observer of the Gazeta figured it out.En" Mikhail Khodarenok.
"They asked for help with the operation"
A former American soldier fighting on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), said in an interview with ABC about the "chaos" in the fighting in the Kursk region.
"We were asked to go to the area near Kursk to help [AFU] snipers with operations. But now there is chaos there, and as a result we did not carry out this operation," the man said.
ABC does not disclose the identity of the military and calls him a veteran of the US Air Force. At the same time, the channel shows photos of a man (his face is hidden in the footage) with the flag of the United States, taken on Russian territory.
There is no official information about the participation of American mercenaries in the fighting in the Kursk region. However, on August 16, a photo of three fighters against the background of an armored vehicle with the caption "Guys in Kursk" appeared on social networks of the Forward Observations Group (FOG, a company that supplies tactical equipment, medical equipment and various accessories; in Russia it is considered a private military company), the Kursk region was also indicated in the geolocation of the post. The organization itself refused to comment on its participation in the attack on the region.
The question arises: what does it mean "asked to help with the operation"? The word "ask" in a combat zone sounds more than strange. If an American ex-military man has concluded some kind of contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, then the wording "asked" in relation to him is inappropriate: in this case, the word "ordered" is used.
If he did not sign any documents, then he is a private person. And it is unwise to draw conclusions of an operational and strategic nature based on the statements of private individuals. As well as taking seriously some statements of captured soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: as a rule, they turn out to be either cooks, or drivers, or forcibly mobilized, who consider the fighting a mistake and have no further desire to fight.
The situation in the Kursk region
And now about more serious things. The operation to defeat the units and formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region, it seems, has not yet begun. In any case, there is no information about the rapid advance of the Russian army in this direction yet.
But the enemy has actually stopped further offensive actions and is gaining a foothold on the achieved borders. There is some advance of the AFU units on the flanks, but these attacks do not have significant significance. The Ukrainian army does not have any operational-level reserves in the Kursk region that could significantly change the situation on the battlefield in its favor.
According to the deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commander of the Akhmat special forces, Major General Apta Alaudinov, Ukrainian formations suffered heavy losses in the Kursk region during the day and are reviewing their action plan, and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation returned two settlements under control.
The assumptions of Ukrainian analysts about the regrouping of the Russian army from other directions to the Kursk region and the subsequent weakening of the pressure of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, for example, in the Pokrovsky and Toretsky directions, did not come true. Successful offensive operations by the Russian military are still continuing there, and the Pokrovsk area is considered the hottest point on the entire front today.
Pokrovsk is a major communication center and a nodal point in the defense of the Ukrainian army, and the continuation of attacks by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in this direction can create big problems for the Armed Forces, up to the withdrawal of Russian troops to the Dnieper and the retreat of the Ukrainian army from other sections of the line of contact.
Maybe this is the idea of the Russian command - to liberate the territory of the Kursk region, captured by the enemy, without significant destruction of housing and other infrastructure facilities.
As for the "chaos" and panic in the AFU formations, the lack of motivation of the Ukrainian fighters and the refusal to participate in the battles, then such information should be treated with prejudice: such information does not agree well with the position of the troops on the front line.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
