Ukrainian forces achieved a rapid three-mile advance in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, capitalizing on a momentary pause in Russian and North Korean operations, Forbes war correspondent David Axe reports.

The breakthrough came after Russian and North Korean forces, exhausted from months of failed offensives, took what the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies (CDS) termed “an operational pause” around 5 February. According to Axe’s reporting, the Russians needed time to integrate fresh troops and equipment, while the 12,000-strong North Korean corps was expected to rotate in new regiments.

“The Ukrainians abandoned a BMP tracked fighting vehicle, a VAB wheeled armored personnel carrier, at least one mine-resistant truck and a couple of tanks,” Axe writes, noting that these losses didn’t hinder the Ukrainian advance.

The operation, conducted by the Siversk Operational Tactical Group, resulted in the capture of two Kursk settlements: Kolmakov and Fanaseevka.

The current situation evolved from an August offensive when, as Axe details, “a strong Ukrainian force eventually numbering around 20,000 troops invaded Kursk Oblast in western Russia.” This was countered by a combined Russian and North Korean force of 60,000 troops, which “ultimately lost a third of their manpower without fully ejecting the Ukrainians from their 250-square-mile salient.”

Estonian analyst WarTranslated, cited in Axe’s report, observed the Russian response through their communications channels, noting “four waves of Ukrainian forces” advancing along the Sudzha-Oboyan highway. Axe reports that while Russian forces attempted to counter with explosive drones, many missed their targets “possibly thwarted by Ukrainian jamming, Russian inexperience or both.”

The offensive has resulted in the first expansion of the Ukrainian salient in Kursk in several weeks, as confirmed by updates to the Ukraine Control Map, marking a significant shift in the territorial situation.

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