Ukrainian forces targeting a portion of the key E-38 highway in Kursk with first-person view (FPV) drones are raising new alarms among some local Russian leaders and milbloggers. Ukraine is hitting that area to halt Russian logistics.
The Rylsk Bridge in particular has been a hotspot. An image appeared on social media of one burning vehicle on that span claimed to have been hit in an FPV drone strike.
The highway runs across the middle of Kursk eastward from just over the Ukrainian border. It is a major logistics supply route for Russian forces, located about 15 miles north of the leading edge of Ukraine’s advance in this part of Kursk.
An advisor to acting Kursk Gov. Alexei Smirnov recently raised concerns about these attacks.
“For the second day, the enemy has been striking the Rylsk Bridge with FPV drones,” Roman Alekhine wrote on Telegram. “They are hitting both the military and civilians.”
Alekhine called for greater protection for the bridge and urged civilians to evacuate the area.
“We have been talking about the fact that the enemy will soon begin to fly to the Rylsk-Lgov highway for more than a week,” he complained. “And we recommended evacuating not only to save lives, but also to avoid interfering with the military. We were told that we were causing panic.”
The Romanov_Light Telegram channel chided Russian leadership for not paying more attention to the problem.
“Chief of the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Valeri Gerasimov announced to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin that ‘the enemy’s advance deep into the territory in the Kursk direction has been stopped,” he wrote “Was he deliberately covering the Ukrainian Armed Forces?”
It is unclear if Ukrainian forces have the ability, or the interest, to push closer to the bridge.
“In particular, attempts continue to bypass Korenevo and take fire control of the E-38 highway (Rylsk – Lgov – Kursk), where enemy attack drones sometimes reach (although the prospects of the occupation corps directly reaching it are extremely unlikely),” the Russian MiG of Russia Telegram channel wrote on Wednesday.
Even if it can’t reach the highway, Ukraine can slow the flow of Russian forces and materiel by making the E-38 difficult to transit.
A new facet of modern warfare, these drones provide an aerial precision-strike capability that can put a major roadway, and specific moving vehicles on it, at risk from many miles away without the need for fixed or rotary-wing strike aircraft that would be highly vulnerable to air defenses.
Despite the dangers, Russian drivers trying to avoid being attacked have received speeding tickets. That’s because traffic cameras on the highway have recorded them exceeding the limit. Some motorists have tried covering their license plates to avoid the tickets, but traffic police are forcing them to remove them.
An ABC News crew recently spent some time across the border from Kursk. Reporter Patrick Reevell said among other things, he was struck by the massive number of vehicles traveling back and forth from Russia, the vastness of the territory Ukraine invaded and how the Russians taken prisoner were young conscripts with little support.
Ukrainian Special Forces destroyed a rare Russian Sapfir (Sapphire) electronic warfare system in Kursk. The system is designed to counter drones, boosting area defenses. It uses a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter bus chassis as a platform, according to the Ukrainian Militinari news outlet.
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Elsewhere in the war, Russian troops continue to push toward the key logistics hub of Porkrovsk with growing indications that Ukrainian resistance in the area is melting away, according to the latest assessment from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
- Kharkiv Oblast: Russian forces continued offensive operations in northern Kharkiv Oblast on August 27 but did not make any confirmed advances.
- Luhansk Oblast: Ukrainian forces recently regained lost positions southwest of Kreminna amid continued Russian offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line on August 27.
- Donetsk Oblast: Russian forces have made “significant tactical advances in the Pokrovsk direction amid reports that Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from select areas southeast of Pokrovsk,” ISW reports, adding that they have also made marginal advances elsewhere in the area. Moscow’s troops are also made marginal advances toward Toretsk and advanced southwest of Donetsk City. Their continued offensive operations in the Siversk and Chasiv Yar direction on August 26 and 27, produced no confirmed changes to the frontline.
- Zaporizhzhia Oblast: Russian forces continued offensive operations in western Zaporizhia Oblast on August 27, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline in the area.
- Kherson Oblast: Fighting continues along the Dnipro River with no confirmed territorial changes.
While the U.K. supports allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons like its Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles against targets deep inside Russia, it has so far acquiesced to concerns by the U.S. and Germany over escalating the conflict.
“London has been making the case to Washington for months that Ukraine should be able to fire U.K. Storm Shadows at targets inside Russia,” the Financial Times reports. “Well-placed figures have told the FT that the British government sent a request to both Washington and Paris earlier this summer to that effect. The Biden administration has denied it is withholding permission.
However, the “idea of a veto is too strong,” one person familiar with the situation told the publication. Meanwhile, “Downing Street admits that consensus among Western allies is needed on such a contentious issue and that they should move in lockstep. Another consideration is that Storm Shadow missiles may require access to U.S. intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in areas where Russia is jamming GPS signals that the weapons use for targeting, according to the person familiar with the discussions.”
In an interview with Defense Acquisition Magazine, Assistant Defense Secretary Doug Bush said the U.S. has revved up its munitions production to meet Ukraine’s ongoing needs.
“We have significantly boosted domestic production of many different types of munitions to meet demands from Ukraine,” he explained. “Congressional funding allowed us to boost production of 155 mm artillery shells to about 9,000 per month at the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022. Production will reach close to 80,000 per month this fall, and we will exceed 100,000 a month by next summer.”
Ukraine is “concentrating forces and weapons in the Odesa region to strike Crimea,” the Russian Diary of a Paratrooper Telegram channel claimed.
“According to our underground, a large number of [aerial] drones and sea drones (SUDs) are being recorded in Odesa,” Diary of a Paratrooper stated without proof. “Their total number is approaching a thousand units. It is obvious that the enemy is preparing a massive combined attack on the Crimean Peninsula. We hope that our command will pay attention to this information.”
Ukraine’s 28th Mechanized Brigade released a video showing its troops shooting down a Russian Su-25 Frogfoot with an unspecified man-portable air defense system (MANPADS). There have been at least 31 Frogfoots destroyed and two damaged during this conflict, according to the Oyrx open-source tracking group. That figure could be higher because they only tabulate losses for which there is visual evidence.
Ukraine has unveiled another new drone, called REX. It is a combination of a small bomber and reconnaissance aircraft able to carry up to eight munitions weighing a combined 22 pounds under its wings. It can also provide surveillance capabilities, according to the ITC.Ua website, a news portal about computer and digital technology.
“With a takeoff weight of 16 kg (about 35 pounds), the REX drone can stay in the air for up to 1.5 hours and reach speeds of up to 126 km/h (about 78 mph),” the outlet reported.
The Ukrainian Wild Hornets drone production team compiled a video showing more than 10 of the 100 Russian drones Wild Hornets claims were downed by its first-person view (FPV) drones. You can read more about this tactic in our story here. Meanwhile, Russia is also developing its own drone-on-drone capabilities.
Ukraine’s use of FPV drones to take out Russian UAVs is causing consternation among some Russian milbloggers.
“We cannot remain silent about this problem,” Alexander Kharchenko wrote on Telegram. “The enemy is increasing its efforts to destroy our reconnaissance UAVs. I will not give figures, but even within one unit they can be significant. Previously, a drone could operate for several months, but now…”
“The enemy has started to use FPV drones as interceptors. There is no magic here. The Ukrainians have set up radars, landed crews, created a unified system and started shooting down our drones,” Kharchenko complained. “This problem must be taken very seriously. Without reconnaissance UAVs, our reconnaissance and strike contours will not work. Artillery, Iskanders and FAB (glide bombs)will sharply reduce their effectiveness if the enemy clears its skies.”
Tunnels under Bakhmut once used to store champagne are now home to Russian military vehicles, troops and supplies. In addition, the 195th Separate Medical Battalion has set up a base there.
And finally, Ukraine is boosting its cotton production in Odesa, but not to make clothing.
An initiative launched earlier this year by Zelensky “is particularly strategic given that cotton cellulose is a key component in the production of gunpowder and tank shell charges, both of which are currently in short supply worldwide,” the Kyiv Post wrote. “The global shortage of gunpowder has driven up prices, exacerbated by Russia’s aggressive procurement of cotton cellulose from Asian countries to supply its munitions factories. By cultivating its own cotton, Ukraine can mitigate its ammunition shortage, reducing reliance on foreign sources.”
That’s it for now.