Olive Enokido Lineham, OSINT Producer
Ukrainian officials have remained tight-lipped about Operation Kursk, but footage of the various units on Telegram offers a glimpse into who is involved and where they are located inside Russia.
Geolocated footage posted online over the past two days shows Ukrainian military forces in Suzha and Dalino in the Kursk region, close to the Russian-Ukrainian border.
One video shows three soldiers from Ukraine's 225th Separate Assault Battalion lowering a Russian flag outside a school in the village of Dalino, less than five kilometers from the border.
The battalion is a unit of the Ukrainian Ground Forces and has previously fought near Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, where heavy fighting broke out between Russian and Ukrainian forces in May.
It is unclear when the video was filmed, but it was posted to the battalion's Telegram channel on Monday. One analyst said the size of the Ukrainian battalion could “vary” depending on the type of unit.
John Hardy, deputy director for Russia at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank, said Ukrainian battalions are often under stress and “won't grow beyond company size of 100 to 150 troops.”
He said the footage alone did not reveal exactly what strength the 225th Battalion had at Kursk.
Another video shows Ukrainian soldiers with military vehicles roaming the town of Suzha, with “Bravo Team” written on their vests, and was posted to the Bravo Team Telegram channel, which is linked to Ukraine's 130th Independent Reconnaissance Battalion.
The same channel also posted another video taken from inside a military vehicle in Suja.
But it's not just Ukrainian soldiers who are seen in these videos: A Ukrainian member of parliament also posted a video online yesterday of the Ukraine-Belgorod border crossing, about 50 kilometres south of Suzha.
In a Facebook video, Roman Kostenko said he would be entering Russian territory with Ukrainian defense forces and intended to “write a statement” about his “journey”.
Dozens of geolocated videos have been posted to Telegram showing soldiers fighting in different parts of the Kursk region, though it is unclear exactly how many Ukrainian troops are taking part in the operation that began last week.
Hardy said Operation Kursk differed in “size, scale and ambition” from previous smaller raids in the Belgorod region, including the use of regular army troops and the number of brigades involved.
