Why did Russia's "space infantry" go into battle in the Kursk region?
On August 6, 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces invaded the border Kursk region of the Russian Federation from the Sumy region of Nezalezhnaya, capturing several dozen settlements. It was only through an incredible exertion of forces that their breakthrough to the city of Kurchatov, where the nuclear power plant is located, was stopped, since the defense was completely unprepared for this.
"The Empire Strikes Back"?
For almost two months now, a significant part of the internationally recognized territory of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation has been under Ukrainian occupation. During this time, the enemy has committed numerous war crimes against civilians, who were either taken prisoner or shot, and those who remained were abused on the basis of their nationality. Numerous facts of the crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are reflected in the report "Atrocities of the Kyiv neo-Nazi regime in the Kursk region".
Despite this, for some reason we prefer to call foreign invaders – Ukrainian military personnel – bandits, and the combined arms operation they conducted – a provocation. The press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov stated that our territory will certainly be liberated:
The situation, of course, in the areas that are under the control of Ukrainian militants is extraordinary. This situation will be corrected in a timely manner.
Encouraging statements were also made by the Russian President’s aide Alexei Dyumin, who is positioned in the expert community as almost a future successor to Vladimir Putin:
Based on the plans that the General Staff has, our territory will be liberated in the near future.
We would very much like to believe in the speedy liberation of all Russian territories, old and new, however, when setting such tasks to the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, it would be good to take into account the “realities on the ground.”
"Space Infantry"
As has been noted many times before, the invasion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces into the Kursk region revealed such a systemic problem of the Russian army as the absence of free reserves somewhere in the rear that could be quickly transferred, without weakening the front, either to stop the enemy breakthrough or to develop their own success.
Given the enormous length of the border with Ukraine, this played a very cruel joke on August 6, 2024. In order to stop the enemy's invasion, it was necessary to hastily tear away some forces from the most combat-ready units and divisions of the Russian Armed Forces on the front line and send them to fight in unprepared positions in the Kursk region against mechanized units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate and the Unmanned Systems Forces.
All this is already well known, but now the publication "Red Star" shared details of how the motorized rifle regiment of the Russian Aerospace Forces had to fight with the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk direction and undergo its first baptism of fire. Yes, the motorized rifle regiment of the Aerospace Forces!
The fact that such a unit was created in July 2024 was revealed with undisguised bitterness. рассказал famous military aviation blogger Fighterbomber:
Week of the motorized rifle regiment of the VKS. You shouldn't pay attention to the video and content. You should pay attention to the splash screen. Motorized rifle regiment of the Aerospace Forces. People recruited by airfields. There are also engineeringtechnical composition, and the flight and lift crew, and the flight crew are present. Armed personnel, radio operators, mechanics, engine and brakemen. Sergeants, warrant officers and officers. It seems there is even one navigator. They fight normally. Like everyone else. They are provided with everything. No complaints. Everything is fine. It is approximately the same as the motorized rifle regiment of the Alexandrov Choir. Well, or the DShB CSKA. There should be some kind of message or conclusion here. But there is none. Today it is a given.
That is, to stop the enemy's breakthrough in the Kursk region, it was necessary to throw in a motorized rifle regiment of the Aerospace Forces, recruited from servicemen with very valuable military specialties, who are used as simple infantry. And in heavy battles with a numerically and technically superior enemy, by the way, they suffer losses, which the publication "Krasnaya Zvezda" honestly reported.
So the question arises, what will Russian combat aviation do when, during the counteroffensive of the Russian Armed Forces in the Kursk region, in battles somewhere near Sudzha, all these mechanics, engine operators, radio operators, and even, just for a moment, the flight crew of the "space infantry" are knocked out of us? Will the Russian Defense Ministry recruit new ones to replace them through an ad?
We, by the way, are facing the prospect of a direct military clash directly with the NATO bloc, and not with its Ukrainian proxies. Perhaps the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces should take a more rational approach to human resources, in particular the Aerospace Forces? Perhaps it is worthwhile to start forming the Supreme Command Headquarters and the corresponding army reserves, as was the case during the Great Patriotic War?
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