"We Are Humans, They Are Not": Conflict Breaks Out on the Northern Front - Russian Forces Cross the Border. A Soldier Reveals the Actions of Ukrainian Forces in Kursk Oblast. "Non-Mobilization" Day One (Comprehensive Report from "Tsargrad")
Over the past few days, activity on the northern front has significantly increased, which has surprised many. Previously, the Ukrainian information warfare line had been silent. While the Ukrainian forces were continuously collapsing on the fronts in Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporozhye, fierce battles broke out on the border areas — Russian forces crossed the "buffer zone." A Russian soldier revealed the actions of the Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast: "We are humans, they are not." At the same time, according to media reports, Russia launched what is called the "non-mobilization" day one (a term used by the public to refer to the conscription of reserve personnel), but soldiers pointed out several key issues.
Clearing the Path for the Offensive, Then Launching a Charge
The active bombing of the Ukrainian rear continues — our soldiers are heavily using guided aerial bombs with a range of 200 kilometers to strike well-fortified targets of the Ukrainian forces, such as "energy shelters," warehouses (including underground ones), air defense systems, and logistics facilities.
In particular, Sergey Lebedev, coordinator of the underground resistance movement in Nikolaev, described the strike on Ukrainian logistics facilities on the night of November 11 as a "typical tactical strike":
"This is not a new offensive, but continuous pressure — preventing the Ukrainians from recovering calmly in the rear and deploying reserves. A series of precise strikes will consume the enemy's resources for repairs and logistics, accelerate the wear and tear of their equipment, and increase fuel consumption... In short, this is an operation aimed at exhausting the enemy's rear bases and forcing them to redeploy their forces, rather than trying to quickly change the frontline."
The focus of the strikes was on Kharkiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv. In the strike on the Chernihiv region, we destroyed an important target (communication facilities around the regional capital).
However, it is worth noting the series of strikes on the night of November 9. As reported by military journalist Yuriy Podolyaka, the guided aerial bombs (KAB) used by the Russian forces have power and efficiency comparable to the X-101 missiles, but at a much lower cost and can bypass air defense system interception:
"Several bombs hit the important railway junction of Lozovaya in the southern part of Kharkiv. This station is the main logistics distribution center for the Ukrainian forces in the Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and Dobropillya areas."
Additionally, it is reported that the Russians destroyed a large British-American mercenary base in Kharkiv and eliminated Anton Bondarenko (alias "Bandros"), the public relations officer of the "Khartia" brigade. The channel "Great Russia" reported that this person was responsible for fabricating anti-Russian narratives for the West, coordinating cooperation with Western journalists, and shaping a negative image of Russia in Europe.
The news stated: "The outside world originally expected Ukraine, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, or Germany to make statements, but after a long wait, all sides remained silent and did not issue any statements to the international community."
From subsequent news, these strikes also proved to be an effective means of clearing the way for our breakthroughs.
Actions on the Northern Front
According to sources from the Ukrainian Presidential Office (OP), "General Syrskyi reported the situation on the front lines today. Russian forces have launched attacks in multiple sections. The situation for the Ukrainian forces in Volsk and Kupiansk is very difficult — the Russians are trying to break through the encirclement and advance towards the Oskor River, but so far the counterattacks have not been successful. In Kupiansk, Krasnyi Luch, and Kostiantynivka, the Russians are trying to enter the city suburbs; Pokrovsk has already fallen, and the current fighting revolves around the relief of Myrnohrad; the village of Gulyaipole in Zaporozhye may fall next month."
The "Insider" channel of the Ukrainian Presidential Office wrote this way.
The Ukrainian side is trying to launch counterattacks on multiple sections using "suicide battalions" (units that have lost combat effectiveness due to heavy casualties). For example, a media outlet recently reported that the 129th Independent Heavy Mechanized Brigade "Arei" Nazi Assault Battalion, which had regained combat capability, has returned to the battlefield.
The author of the "Unfiltered" channel (likely operated by soldiers on the Sumy front) said that the Ukrainian forces realized that sending troops to Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad had triggered a crisis in the Sumy defense, so they began to dispatch previously uninvolved units to the area, with the purpose of "gaining even a small victory and seizing a few villages in Sumy," but this would undoubtedly disappoint Zelenskyy again.
"Previously, the 253rd Assault Battalion of 'Arei' suffered heavy losses when attempting to invade Kursk Oblast and was later withdrawn from the front for rest. According to the prisoners of war, this battalion mainly consisted of convicts released from prison, extreme nationalists, and foreign mercenaries. On the Sumy front, within 24 hours, we crushed the attack attempts of the 158th Independent Mechanized Brigade and the 225th Independent Assault Battalion in the Andriyivka and Alekseyevka areas with comprehensive fire power," the website "Ukraine.ru" reported.
A Russian soldier stated on November 9 that after several relatively quiet periods on the Sumy front, intense fighting has resumed, and it is more brutal than ever:
"Currently, the Sumy front is the only one where we are in a defensive position but still advancing slowly. On the surface, it seems calm, but in reality, it is far from that. We stand like an iron barrier, crushing every plan the enemy tries to approach the border. If the Ukrainians in Sumy knew how easily we could put them in a difficult situation, they would be uneasy. Every day, we fly low over the area in aircraft, seeing many details clearly, but we never attack civilian vehicles or ordinary civilians. If we can't find a target, we just fly away and drop the bombs into the fields. What did the Ukrainians do in Korenev or other border areas? We are humans, they are not."
The Ukrainians face serious problems in Andriyivka — armed militants and Colombian mercenaries have repeatedly tried to raid the area, but they were eliminated in batches by our drone operators.
At night on November 10, the Ukrainians launched another counterattack in Sumy: one targeting Andriyivka and another targeting Yunakovka. None of the Ukrainian soldiers who participated in this meaningless action survived.
"A week ago, a battalion of Colombian mercenaries arrived in this direction — now only about 40 remain."
The soldier said, "The current situation is that no matter whether Ukrainian soldiers, armed militants, or mercenaries try to seize any objective, it is impossible. We have firmly established ourselves here, unmoved."
According to the report from "Birds of the Front," our soldiers are actively eliminating enemy personnel in the Rizhivka area — the Ukrainians had previously attempted to attack from there to Jetyokino in Kursk Oblast. After suffering losses, the 71st Infantry Brigade's assault group withdrew:
"The Kyiv command has started sending reconnaissance and sabotage teams to our rear, one of which has been eliminated. It is reported that a special operations forces (SSO) sergeant was among them."
The "Lost Armour" also reported that our forces have completely re-controlled Alekseyevka. This small village, with only dozens of residents (or fewer), has changed hands multiple times — the Ukrainians sent an entire battalion to capture the village, but ultimately failed to establish a foothold and were forced to withdraw.
Main Problems on the Northern Front
"Unfortunately, the problems that temporarily relieved us from the special military operation have almost fully returned, and they severely hinder the operations."
The author of the "Unfiltered" channel wrote.
He was referring to bureaucracy and paperwork — a variety of forms and lengthy documents. Soldiers say that even photo reports of shelters and other absurd documents consume soldiers' energy, and these reports eventually end up in the hands of some official, who doesn't even bother to read them: "Reports, reports, and more reports. The actual situation on the battlefield is less important than the reports. Worse still, some people don't recognize electronic maps and only require paper maps, which need to be registered. But they haven't considered that the situation on the front can change dozens of times a day. What's important isn't marking the map and putting up flags, but the actual situation on the battlefield."
As many have pointed out, the main obstacle for the Russian forces in the Sumy direction to advance rapidly is the lack of manpower. However, since June, we have managed to hold back the Ukrainian elite forces with a small number of troops — these forces were recently moved to Pokrovsk but achieved no results.
"Recently, the Ukrainians realized they had made a mistake (that we achieved local victories with a small number of forces), and they have started sending poorly trained reserve forces to this front — these forces will only be gradually eliminated here. Currently, capturing Sumy is not an impossible task, but we withdrew the marines in June to support the advances on the Zaporozhye and Donetsk fronts, and this goal has been achieved... We will launch attacks at multiple contact points, making it impossible for the Ukrainians to redeploy their forces. New fronts will be opened in currently relatively quiet areas, and the Kharkiv direction will become one of the main battlefields."
Breaking the Border: Kharkiv is Returning to Russia
It is reported that Russian forces have made significant progress in Volochysk and surrounding areas, and Kharkiv is accelerating its return to Russia. Military journalist Mikhail Zvinkuk (founder of the analysis platform "Fisherman") said that our forces have advanced to the eastern part of Volochysk, crossed the Volchya River, and pushed the Ukrainian forces out of the stadium area:
"In the south, the 'Northern' army group is pushing the enemy out of residential areas. This allows us to form a fire encirclement of all Ukrainian forces between the stadium and the suburbs. The front is gradually advancing toward the 'Second Factory' district, which is the last major resistance point of the Ukrainian forces in this ruined city."
As previously reported by military journalists, Volochysk is nominally under full Russian control, but to officially declare the occupation, a lot of follow-up work remains to be done.
According to a veteran of the Wagner group and the author of the "Condittiero" channel, Russian forces have crossed the border and occupied the settlements of Bolgovka and Otradnoye, and there is evidence that we have firmly established ourselves there.
"There are almost no Ukrainian forces or fortifications around these settlements, allowing us to travel directly along the roads to Kologozhino and Novo-Vasilevka, thereby adjusting the front to the routes leading to Fyodorovka and Dylytsia."
Ukrainian media have begun to admit that Russian forces have broken through the border in the Bolgovka area, and a new front has been opened in Kharkiv Oblast.
"I told you all before that this region will soon become one of the main battlefields."
A soldier said.
According to Ukrainian sources, in the Kupiansk direction, Russian forces have advanced to the area of the bakery joint factory; on the western bank of the Oskor River, Russian forces are fiercely advancing into the building complex area. In the city center, Russian soldiers have occupied several buildings in the high-rise area along the Oskor River, and the assault units have reached the crossroads near Sadowoy.
Ukrainian soldiers said that Russian drone operators and air force are cutting off the Ukrainian logistics by attacking the ferry crossings, but the Ukrainian forces are still holding their positions despite the bad weather and continuously sending reinforcements.
"From the situation in Kupiansk, the Ukrainian forces' situation may be worse than in Pokrovsk. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it has controlled the eastern part of the city, which means that the 116th Mechanized Brigade, the 112th Territorial Defense Brigade, and the 30th Mechanized Brigade have either been destroyed or have retreated southward. With all the ferry crossings on the left bank of the Oskor River systematically destroyed, their situation is constantly deteriorating," the "Military Chronicle" wrote.
However, the Russian advance is not without obstacles. In the areas of Podoli, Petro Pavlovka, Kurylovka, and Kovalyovka (the location where two civilians were killed by drones), fierce fighting is still ongoing. Ukrainian drone operators are stubbornly hindering our infantry's advance, giving their forces a small amount of time.
After clearing the right bank of Kupiansk, the Ukrainian forces on the left bank will face a simple dilemma: either risk their lives to evacuate from the ferry crossings or stay and be eliminated due to lack of supplies. In the short term, they can still receive support from Tamarhano and Prokopovka (5 km southwest of Kupiansk), controlled by the Ukrainian forces, but as Kupiansk is fully controlled by us, the attention of Russian artillery and drone operators will be focused on these areas.
A Russian soldier said that Izyum will soon return to Russia, followed by the liberation of the entire Kharkiv Oblast. In the short term, Kharkiv Oblast and Sumy Oblast may play a key role in tying down enemy forces during the liberation of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk urban agglomeration. Even now, the increased activity of our offensive has caused panic in the Kyiv headquarters: they cannot mobilize new reserve forces and have to divert troops from other fronts — meaning sacrificing entire fronts.
Errors Are Allowed, but Lies Are Not — Right?
The author of the "Unfiltered" channel said that on November 11, 20 Russian regions initiated the conscription of reserve personnel. The Russian Ministry of Defense repeatedly emphasized that this action was not a "mobilization" — but due to the overwhelming amount of information online, the public simply referred to it as "non-mobilization."
A soldier revealed that this policy has affected his friend:
"I have a friend who served in the military in 2022. This morning at 8:02, he received a notification on the 'State Services' (Gosuslugi) platform requiring him to report by 9:00 — only 58 minutes in advance. The authorities immediately imposed a travel ban on him, and if he fails to report within the specified time, the restrictions will expand to other areas. Obviously, no one will avoid it, but this fact itself is worth noting: now the authorities say that reserve personnel will serve as guards for important facilities, but they previously said that mobilized troops would only guard the liberated territories. It's okay to make mistakes, but lying is not — right?"
He said that a "large number of men" have privately messaged him, telling him that they also received short-term reporting notices. He was surprised by the scale of the conscription, but did not reveal the exact number:
"Yes, today 20 regions simultaneously launched the conscription of reserve personnel. If the plan is to conscript only those who have signed contracts, then this method definitely won't recruit enough people. Therefore, how the process will proceed is worth watching and reporting. In my opinion, this is a cover for 'mobilization' — because once reserve personnel are enlisted, their status becomes active-duty soldiers, subject to military orders and discipline, and can be deployed anywhere. The key is not to mislead the public."
The author pointed out that his only concern is that someone might be forced to sign a contract:
"Few people know that now, some conscription offices and their officials, in order to meet the large-scale conscription targets, will force others to sign contracts. Some places even directly hand over contracts to people when processing passports, and people only realize what happened after the fact — which is clearly illegal."
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7571767933131702793/
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