Ukrainian Forces Turn Kursk Highway into a 'Road of Death' for Russian Troops

Ukrainian military units are transforming a stretch of highway in Russia's Kursk Oblast into a "road of death" in a mission targeting war criminals from the Russian 155th Naval Infantry Brigade. This operation is led by the 36th Marine Brigade, the 47th Mechanized Brigade, and the 82nd and 95th Air Assault Brigades, according to Anton Gerashchenko, a former advisor to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs.

On October 10, members of the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade captured a group of Ukrainian drone operators in Zelenyi Shlyakh, a small village in a Ukrainian-controlled area. The Russian soldiers stripped the Ukrainians, forced them to lie face down, and shot them, resulting in the deaths of all nine individuals.

Following this incident, Ukrainian forces began systematically targeting and ambushing members of the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade. On October 18, paratroopers from the 95th Air Assault Brigade engaged a group of Russian armored personnel carriers, successfully destroying three APCs and reportedly killing around 30 Russian soldiers. The Ukrainian air assault branch celebrated this operation, stating, “The teleportation of the enemy to Hell took place in a complex way.”

The Ukrainian counteroffensive intensified last week when the 47th Mechanized Brigade launched an attack on Russian positions in Novoivanovka, located just north of Zelenyi Shlyakh. Utilizing M-1 tanks and M-2 fighting vehicles, the brigade bombarded Russian forces with 120-millimeter cannons and 25-millimeter autocannons.

In a coordinated assault, Ukrainian marines advanced from the south in a convoy of T-64 tanks and M-113 APCs, targeting Russian vehicles as they moved. Simultaneously, Ukrainian paratroopers approached from the west, successfully killing seven Russian sappers who were attempting to lay mines on a road in Zelenyi Shlyakh.

As a result of these operations, the main road through Zelenyi Shlyakh has become a "graveyard of destroyed Russian equipment worth tens of millions of dollars," according to Gerashchenko. Analysts have reported seeing at least 17 destroyed Russian armored vehicles, including trucks, APCs, and tanks in the area.

Although Ukrainian forces have not lost any armored vehicles in their recent operations, they have faced challenges. A group of nine marines from the 36th Marine Brigade found themselves surrounded west of Zelenyi Shlyakh and had to call for artillery fire on their own location. Fortunately, all nine marines survived, managing to escape while evacuating their wounded comrades, as noted by Estonian analyst WarTranslated.

In response to these setbacks, the beleaguered 155th Naval Infantry Brigade is facing severe losses, but reinforcements are on the way. North Korean troops are expected to arrive in Kursk in the coming days, potentially bolstering the Russian forces in the region.

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