RF throws inexperienced conscripts into battle against the AFU in Kursk – Forbes.

Ukrainian sappers bombed Russian defenses near the village of Novyi Put

According to Forbes, last week Ukrainian sappers managed to breach Russian defenses along the border near the village of Novyi Put, located 30 km west of Ukraine's salient in the Kursk region. What initially appeared to be a short assault quickly turned into a serious threat to Russia.

Ukrainian armored vehicles rapidly advanced several kilometers past Novyi Put towards the city of Veseloe. The AFU reached the southern outskirts of the settlement and effectively took control of it. This happened no later than Saturday.

The next day, a Defense Forces fighter dropped a satellite-guided glide bomb on a possible Russian position in a multi-story building in the center of Veseloe. The destruction was monitored from a drone by fighters of the Ukrainian UAV unit Khorne.

«We are watching all of you», - commented this attack on social networks.

According to Forbes, the Russian garrison near Veseloe consists of many unprepared young conscripts who, according to Kremlin policy, are not supposed to participate in combat operations. Such involvement of inexperienced and poorly trained soldiers likely led to the rapid advance of the AFU.

«This is a bad sign for the Russians, who have to rely on young conscripts and high school students. If the Russians respond to the Ukrainian attack on Veseloe the same way they responded to the broader incursion into Kursk last month, they may deploy better-trained airborne forces to blunt the Ukrainian advance», - emphasizes Forbes.

It is currently unknown which specific Ukrainian forces are involved in the battles for Veseloe. However, UAV footage shows that armored trucks Kirpi, popular among Ukrainian marines, are participating in the breach. Also, the 36th Marine Brigade is engaged in combat in the eastern part of Kursk, so it's possible that its fighters are involved in this operation as well.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, the Russians carried out a counterattack and recaptured a settlement in the Kursk region where there had also been an advance of Ukrainian forces.