Ukrainian troops have been hailed as heroes for their actions to evacuate their comrades while surrounded by Russian forces during Kyiv's incursion into the Kursk region.
Kyiv invaded the lightly defended border of the Russian region that borders the Sumy oblast on August 6, later saying it had seized 500 square miles. Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian and Russian defense ministries for comment by email.
However, the incursion coincided with Russian advances in the Donetsk oblast and questions over its objectives. While Moscow appeared slow to respond, it has now deployed 50,000 troops there, albeit at a cost to operations on the Donbas front.
Amid reports of Russian forces starting to regain territory, the Ukrainian Telegram channel DeepState reported of "heroism worthy of a film by the soldiers of the 36th Marine Brigade."
The channel said that nine of the brigade members had taken positions in the settlement of Lyubimovka to help the evacuation of their wounded comrades before finding themselves surrounded by Russian snipers.
However, the Ukrainian Marines "refused to surrender" and so "made the difficult decision" to call for artillery fire on themselves.
An incredible story: 9 marines from the 36th Brigade found themselves surrounded in Lyubimovka, Kursk Oblast, while covering the evacuation of wounded soldiers. They called in Ukrainian artillery fire on their own position, which precisely targeted and demolished the building.… pic.twitter.com/sSYiUIdfFF
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) October 20, 2024The building they were in was hit and caught fire, but then all nine men were seen leaving, having survived the strike that had killed "a crowd of Russians."
The purported explosion and fire captured in the footage gave the Ukrainian troops cover to pick up the wounded personnel.
"While Hollywood, directors and screenwriters are racking their brains over the next plot to impress an audience, the Defense Forces of Ukraine demonstrate all this in life on the battlefield," said the DeepState post.
"Without a doubt, they are an example for the whole world," added the post on X, formerly Twitter, which was shared by War is Translated next to a video that has not been independently verified. "We are proud and hope that awards will go to these heroes."
Russian forces have been recapturing territory in Kursk. A map by Newsweek showed Moscow's advances north of Plekhovo, west of Malaya Loknya. The map also showed Russian advances over the border in the Donetsk region, toward central Toretsk, as well as near Kharkiv.
Meanwhile, the commander of the 95th Separate Air Assault Brigade of the Air Assault Forces of Ukraine has revealed details of the incursion into the Kursk region, which is in its third month.
Colonel Oleh Apostol told Ukrainian news outlet Novynarnia that his unit received an order to cross the border during heavy fighting for Toretsk.
Apostol said that his troops were given only three days to prepare for the incursion, which included using MiG and Sukhoi aircraft, repurposed to carry bombs that hit targets accurately.
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