Ukrainian forces triumph on Kursk’s ‘road of death’
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine released a brief video showing the "road of death" near Kursk. The 14-kilometre-long path is heavily littered with remnants of Russian equipment. One of the elite Ukrainian brigades, deployed to support the offensive in the Kursk region, is responsible for this destruction.
"This path is covered with destroyed enemy equipment, a burnt-out trail left by the enemy in defeat. Paratroopers and other units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine systematically destroyed enemy military equipment, leaving only ashes and debris," stated the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on their X social media profile.
The Death Road near Kursk
For the offensive in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian command deployed several of its best-equipped and well-trained units. These include the 80th Air Assault Brigade, the 22nd Mechanized Brigade, and the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, often called elite.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade's equipment largely consists of gear provided by NATO countries. This includes multipurpose vehicles like the HMMWV and Stryker M1132, German infantry fighting vehicles like the Marder, and British Challenger 2 tanks.
Challenger 2 enters the Kursk region
The Challenger 2 is one of the rarest NATO tanks to appear on the front line. This is because Ukraine received only 14 of these units. However, they are a significant reinforcement for the Ukrainian army. They are mainly distinguished by their multi-layer Chobham/Dorchester armour, which, when introduced, was considered the most resilient tank armour in the world. It offers a rifled L30A1 120-mm gun and two 7.62-mm machine guns in the offensive context.
From the video shared by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it appears that the 14-kilometre stretch of road in the Kursk region is marked by remnants primarily of older Russian tanks (though wrecks such as T-72s are also visible), armoured personnel carriers from the BTR family, and infantry fighting vehicles. The scale of destruction includes about 200 various types of Russian constructions.
Ukrainian challenges in the Kursk region are increasing
Observers of the war in Ukraine and analysts, including those from the ISW, believe that the Russians will do everything possible to push Ukrainians out of their country before late fall/early winter.
Unexpectedly, they are managing to push harder not only due to the use of newer armoured equipment (such as T-90M tanks, considered the best in the Russian army, appearing in the Kursk region) but also due to the use of drones controlled via fibre-optic cables, which are not susceptible to electronic warfare systems.
