Ukrainian forces seize control of Kursk with support from German arms
Ukrainians have been conducting a military operation on Russian territory for several days. Everything is progressing smoothly. Russian soldiers prefer to surrender and be taken prisoner rather than die on the front line. German equipment also plays a role in the Kursk region.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrski, informed President Volodymyr Zelensky that 74 settlements in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation are under Ukrainian control.
Despite difficult and intense battles, our forces continue to advance in the Kursk region, and our state’s ‘exchange fund’ is growing. Seventy-four settlements are under Ukrainian control - he said.
German equipment also plays a role in the Kursk region, as Ukrainian soldiers are using precisely their equipment.
German equipment defeated the Russians
The German "Spiegel" reported on all of this. German journalists emphasized that "the weapons supplied by Germany may have been used in a surprise attack by the Ukrainian army on Russian territory in the Kursk region, specifically Marder infantry fighting vehicles."
Marder, designed in Germany in the 1960s, was the first new-generation NATO infantry fighting vehicle. Like the BMP-1 developed by the USSR in the same period, the Marder was a revolutionary design.
The main gun allows for engaging targets at distances of up to 2.4 kilometres, and thanks to the Milan-guided anti-tank missiles, tanks can be engaged at distances of up to 1.9 kilometres. This made them very expensive vehicles, but they have been continuously modernized throughout decades of service.
The 1A3 versions that reached Ukraine resulted from 1990s upgrades, including reinforced armour and a thermal sight for the gunner.
It is worth emphasizing that this vehicle offers greater functionality and crew protection than the Russian BMP-1/2 series.
