Kursk Videos Show Ukrainian Bradley, Abrams Engage Russian Tanks - Newsweek

Oct 29, 2024

New footage appears to show a U.S.-supplied tank and armored vehicle on Russian soil as Kyiv's surprise cross-border incursion nears the three-month mark.

Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade, which has been deployed in the hotspots of fighting along the hundreds of miles of front lines, shared footage to social media on Monday it said showed a U.S.-donated Abrams tank and Bradley infantry fighting vehicle in action in Russia's Kursk region.

Kyiv's fighters carried out an operation in the border region, including targeting Russian positions with American-made TOW anti-tank missiles, the brigade said.

Newsweek could not independently verify the footage. The Russian Defense Ministry has been contacted for comment via email.

Videos of Bradley IFVs and Abrams tank from Ukraine’s 47th Brigade engaging Russian positions in a tree line and deploying smoke grenades in Kursk. The assault also reportedly involved BMP-2 from the 130th Battalion, infantry from the 33rd Assault Battalion, and artillery fire… pic.twitter.com/Lm1t4wRlgf

Ukraine's push into Kursk from early August marked the most significant advance into Russian territory since the start of full-scale war in February 2022. The move took many international observers, including Ukraine's closest allies, by surprise, and Russia was slow to fend off Kyiv's initially rapid advance.

Many attacks focused on the area around the town of Sudzha, which Ukraine claimed just over a week after the incursion got underway, and toward Korenevo, a town northwest of Sudzha. Russia has in recent weeks advanced and retaken territory previously held by Ukraine south of Korenevo.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank that tracks daily changes to the front lines, said on Sunday that both Ukrainian and Russian forces had advanced in the area currently controlled by Kyiv, referred to as the Ukrainian salient in Kursk.

Ukraine's top soldier, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Friday that Russia had sustained 17,819 casualties, including those killed, injured and captured, in Kursk. Russian President Vladimir Putin had said Ukrainian troops were "encircled" in Kursk.

"Could anyone have imagined half a year ago that American equipment would be on enemy territory?" the 47th Mechanized Brigade said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the brigade lauded the performance of Abrams and Bradleys, saying: "American equipment makes the difference on the battlefield."

To date, the U.S. has provided 31 Abrams tanks and more than 300 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, plus support vehicles, to Ukraine, according to Pentagon documents.

Fighters with Ukraine's 116th Separate Mechanized Brigade said on Saturday that the 47th had used armored vehicles, including Bradleys, alongside support from several other elements of the military to execute a "well-prepared assault operation with outstanding cooperation between units."

The soldiers did not specify a location, and Newsweek could not independently verify this report.

On Monday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he could confirm that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, and that North Korean military units have been deployed to the Kursk region."

Ukrainian and South Korean intelligence had suggested in recent weeks that upward of 10,000 of Pyongyang's fighters had arrived in Russia, likely destined for clashes with Ukraine.

Kyiv's GUR military intelligence said on Thursday that it had detected North Korean troops in the Kursk region for the first time the previous day.

Several NATO countries have denounced the presence of North Korean soldiers in Russia as a dangerous and worrying escalation of the conflict. Seoul, deeply wary of Pyongyang's close relationship with Moscow and its increasingly provocative stances in recent months, has said it will consider sending weapons to Ukraine, marking a significant policy shift from the long-held stance of holding back lethal aid.

The Kremlin had dismissed the allegations as "fake news," while a North Korean representative to the United Nations called the reports "groundless."

But in comments over the weekend, Putin said it was Russia's "sovereign decision" how to wield its defense relations with North Korea. Moscow signed a mutual defense pact with Pyongyang earlier this year.

"It's our business," Putin said.