Kursk Video Shows Russian Convoy Ambushed in 'One of Bloodiest Attacks'

A suspected Ukrainian artillery strike on a Russian convoy in the border Kursk region last week may have been one of the "bloodiest" strikes since February 2022, analysis suggests, as Kyiv's cross-border incursion continues.

Kyiv's forces moved from Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region into Russia's Kursk region on August 6, making quick gains as Moscow scrambled to respond to the most significant advance into Russian territory since the start of full-scale war nearly two and a half years ago.

Within days of the beginning of Ukraine's incursion, Russia's community of influential military bloggers and open-source intelligence accounts shared footage purportedly showing a Russian column moving through Kursk under attack from Ukrainian artillery.

Reports at the time suggested more than a dozen vehicles were destroyed around the village of Oktyabrskoe, approximately five miles from the Kursk city of Rylsk.

Several war-tracking accounts attributed the attack to Ukraine's High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, which Kyiv has used against Russian forces for more than two years to great effect. The BBC's Russian service said on Friday that the organization had confirmed that at least one video showing numerous burned-out Russian vehicles was filmed near Rylsk.

The Maps and Arrows account, run by Ian Matveev, a Russian military analyst linked with opposition organizations, said a Russian battalion was targeted in the strikes, with around half of the infantry fighters in the column likely killed.

"This is one of the bloodiest and most massive strikes" of the war, Matveev wrote in a post to messaging app Telegram.

Newsweek could not independently verify the footage, nor the speculation around Russian losses. The Ukrainian military and the Russian Defense Ministry have been approached for comment via email.

The U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than 40 HIMARS and ammunition to be fired from the lauded artillery systems, according to Pentagon documents.

Although the U.S. and the rest of Kyiv's Western backers don't permit Ukraine to use Western-provided long-range capabilities against internationally-recognized Russian territory, Kyiv can use shorter-range weapons, including some fired from HIMARS, to hit back into Russia.

Ukraine's push into Kursk "is consistent with our policy," the Pentagon's deputy press secretary, Sabrina Singh, told the media last week. "We have supported Ukraine from the very beginning to defend themselves against attacks that are coming across the border and for the need for crossfires."

Several Russian officials have publicly said Moscow managed to stop the Ukrainian advances into Kursk, yet reports from Russia's Defense Ministry have suggested Ukrainian forces made it as far as 20 miles into Russia.

Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of the Kursk region, said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday that Ukraine had seized control of 28 settlements, with 2,000 residents unaccounted for.

Around 121,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border region, Smirnov said. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the neighboring Belgorod region, separately said on Monday that regional authorities had begun evacuating residents close to the border.

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