The Church of Saint Michael in Pogrebki has become the epicenter of vicious combat, with Ukrainian and Russian forces locked in a merciless battle for control. Forbes’ David Axe reports from the frontline that advances are measured in yards as both sides tear into each other with autocannons, drone strikes, and infantry assaults.

Kursk Oblast, a Russian region bordering Ukraine, has emerged as a critical battleground since Ukrainian forces seized a 1,000-square-kilometer salient in August 2024. Control of this territory could prove to be a significant bargaining chip in any future peace negotiations, as it represents an internationally recognized Russian territory.

Ukrainian forces, likely 47th Mechanized Brigade, thrust forward with an American-made Bradley fighting vehicle, its 25mm autocannon hammering Russian positions. Russian troops huddled in the church basement as one-pound shells exploded around them.

“The infantry of the armed forces of Ukraine is trying to finish off our fighters,” one Russian blogger reported before turning to the Book of Isaiah: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God.”

The Bradley’s luck eventually ran out when a drone from the 34th Motor Rifle Brigade managed to bypass the vehicle’s anti-drone netting, dropping a grenade that damaged its autocannon and forced the 33-ton vehicle to retreat.

The wider Kursk conflict has turned into a meat grinder. A 20,000-strong Ukrainian force faces 60,000 Russians and North Koreans – the latter reportedly choosing suicide over surrender. Recent assaults have been catastrophic: 400 Russians were killed and wounded in a single attack and 200 North Koreans in another. A Ukrainian air assault brigade’s attempted advance near Berdin failed against Russian fiber-optic drones, leaving their dead frozen on the battlefield.

Pogrebki’s control remains contested after costing Russia nearly 800 troops in two months of fighting. As Axe notes, the drones that now dominate the battlefield have made armored warfare nearly suicidal, forcing infantry to attack on foot with devastating casualties.

Read more:

• Forbes: Drones give Ukraine first tank advantage in war with Russia
• Russians destroy their own North Korean-made SAM system, claiming it was “Western-made radar”
• Frontline report: Ukrainian troops crush Russian-North Korean assault on prison fortress at Malaya Loknya in Kursk Oblast