Ukrainian troops are reportedly using British Challenger 2 tanks in a surprise counterattack in Russia’s Kursk region, according to Russian sources supporting President Putin’s regime. Russia announced that Ukraine had initiated a ‘counterattack’ in the Kursk region near the western border, where Ukrainian forces unexpectedly started a ground offensive in August. The extent of Ukraine’s progress in the area was not promptly disclosed, but bloggers with ties to the Kremlin mentioned an ongoing significant offensive operation.
The reports did not specify the number of British Challenger 2 tanks being employed by Ukrainian forces in the counterattack. The situation in the Kursk region is tense following Ukraine’s unexpected military maneuvers. Russian sources aligned with President Putin’s administration stated that a robust new offensive was in progress, indicating a potentially escalating conflict.
The utilization of British Challenger 2 tanks by Ukrainian forces has raised concerns about the intensifying situation in the Kursk region. Furthermore, the lack of detailed information about the extent of Ukraine’s advancement in the area has left uncertainties about the ongoing developments. Pro-Kremlin military bloggers have highlighted the significance of the current offensive, indicating a heightened level of military activity in the region.
Pro-Putin Telegram channel Rybar claimed that Russia’s 155th Guards Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet used a ‘regular FPV (first-person view) drone’ to destroy a Challenger 2 tank deployed as part of this offensive.
Video footage shared on the channel showed grainy footage of a drone flying into a tank that appears to be hidden in a treeline.
MailOnline was unable to verify whether the tank was in fact a Challenger 2, 14 of which were donated by the UK in January 2023 in a move that prompted the US and Germany to follow suit with their own tanks.
Footage shared to other pro-Putin Telegram channels today claimed to show German tanks getting destroyed by FPV drones.
MailOnline has contacted the Ministry of Defence for comment.
Columns of armoured vehicles were seen on footage advancing beyond territory already controlled by Volodymyr Zelensky’s army.
Ukraine used two tanks, a dozen armoured vehicles and a demolition unit in the new offensive, which was headed towards the village of Berdin, the Russian ministry said.
It added: ‘The operation to destroy the Ukrainian army formations continues.’
Pro-Kremlin military bloggers reported earlier that Kyiv was mounting a new offensive in the area, and that its troops were pressing towards the region’s Bolshesoldatsky district.
Ukrainian officials offered limited information about the offensive.
‘Russia is getting what it deserves,’ Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said.
Kyiv seized dozens of villages in the Kursk region shortly after its offensive began last year, but its advances stalled after Moscow rushed reinforcements to the area, including thousands of North Korean troops.
A day before Ukraine’s surprise attack, Zelensky had claimed: ‘Over the past two days, near Makhnovka [a village in Sudzhansky District of Kursk region], Russian forces lost a battalion composed of North Korean infantry and Russian paratroopers.’
In the new push, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the Russian army in several directions in the Kursk region, said Kyiv’s Centre for Combating Disinformation (CCD), part of the National Security Council of Ukraine.
Russian pro-war ‘Z-channels’ began a scaremongering campaign that the Ukrainian aim was to capture Kursk nuclear power plant, a key strategic site. However, this seems unlikely since it is 37 miles from current Ukrainian positions.
Russian war channels said the Ukrainians assembled six brigades for the attack and were advancing with armoured groups in the direction of the village of Bolshoe Soldatskoe and the neighboring farm of Berdyn.
Infantry had been concealed in forested areas ahead of the advance.
They reportedly attacked Russian positions in the villages of Pushkarnoe, Leonidovo, and Nikolskoye.
Some reports say Ukraine undertook mine clearance work before pushing forwards.
One Russian outlet scoffed at a ‘last resort counteroffensive’, seeking to secure some territorial gains inside Russia to compensate for losses in Donbas, ahead of Donald Trump’s arrival in the White House, and pressure from the US for a ceasefire and peace talks.
In a sign of pressure for Russia in Kursk region, Putin’s troubleshooting deputy defence minister General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov arrived in the region.
Russian War Gonzo channel said: ‘The [Ukrainian] advance units are moving under the cover of electronic warfare installations, which complicates their destruction using attack drones, after which the main forces are pulled up in armoured fighting vehicles.
‘Attempts are being made to strike not only at the forward positions of our troops, but also at the rear areas of the Kursk region using long-range missiles and drones.’
Russian aviation was active over the skies of Kursk region and a Ukrainian tank was seen being hit by a Russian Lancet kamikaze drone close to the border.
The advance came after a recent visit by Ukrainian commander in chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi to Kursk region inside occupied Russia ahead of today’s advance by his troops.
‘Thanks to your steadfastness and courage, the enemy’s losses in the Kursk region amounted to more than 38,000 personnel and more than 1,000 pieces of equipment,’ he said as he awarded honours to troops.
‘Thank you for your courage, heroism and military feat. We will continue to destroy the occupiers. And it doesn’t matter what passports they have: Russian or North Korean. The fight continues.’
Russian pro-Kremlin news outlet Readovka said its troops allegedly had entered Ukraine’s Sumy region south of Nikolayevo-Daryino, attempting to encircle Ukrainian troops from the south.
Large forces of Russians are attacking Malaya Loknya from the west, it claimed. But Ukrainian reports said this column had been destroyed.
