Russian MoD videos claim “successful strikes” against Ukrainian forces in Kursk Region — but the footage is old and filmed elsewhere

RU

The Russian Defense Ministry has published video clips that intend to testify to the Russian army's successes in battles with Ukrainian troops in the Kursk Region.

On August 10, the state-run RIA Novosti, citing the Defense Ministry, published a video of “Russian Mi-28NM helicopters hitting Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) manpower and armored vehicles in the Kursk Region border area with S-13 air missiles.” In fact, the video was actually filmed in Ukraine’s Kreminna and Chasiv Yar.

The day before, on August 9, the Defense Ministry published a video clip illustrating what it claimed to be new strikes by the Russian military against the AFU in Sumy Oblast.

“The crew of the Su-34 multirole supersonic fighter-bomber of [Russia’s] Air and Space Forces fired upon an accumulation of AFU manpower and military equipment at a temporary deployment point identified in one of the districts of [Ukraine’s] Sumy Oblast bordering the Kursk Region. The strike on the reconnaissance targets was carried out with a FAB-3000 aviation bomb with a universal planning and correction module. Having received confirmation from the reconnaissance that the targets had been destroyed, the crew returned safely to the airfield,” the description of the video reads.

However, this video was recorded some time ago — it was published by the Russian state-run news agency TASS on July 14.

The AFU launched an offensive on Russia's Kursk Region, which borders Ukraine, on the morning of August 6. By August 9, photo evidence confirmed the presence of Ukrainian troops in the town of Sudzha. Russian pro-war Telegram channels, however, have claimed that the arrival of Russian reserves allowed them to contain Ukraine’s “combat reconnaissance units” and stabilize the situation.

Simultaneously, other reports have indicated that Ukrainian forces remain on the offensive, attempting to break through to the town of Rylsk. The Russian pro-war channel Dva Maiora (lit. “Two Majors”) noted that it won't be possible to dislodge the Ukrainian forces from the Kursk Region “in half a day,” as they have already begun consolidating occupied positions and organizing supply lines.

Self-styled Russian “war correspondent” Yury Kotenok reported that after regrouping, AFU units resumed their attempts to assault the district center of Korenevo, supported by armored vehicles. He confirmed the presence of Ukrainian forces in the villages of Snagosti, Olgovka, and Mirny, and mentioned ongoing battles for Martynovka. Dva Maiora claimed that Russian forces have entered the village of Malaya Loknya and have allegedly begun to sweep the area.