Russian anti-Putin volunteers have claimed that their operations in the Belgorod and Kursk regions have resulted in substantial losses for the Russian army, with over 613 military personnel reported killed as of Monday morning, March 18.
The Freedom of Russia Legion (LSR) and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) conveyed through their Telegram channels: “In just a few days of conducting a limited military operation against Putin’s troops, our enemy has suffered significant losses in manpower and equipment.”
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The reported losses of the Russian army in the Belgorod and Kursk regions total 613 military personnel permanently lost, 829 with injuries, and 27 captured.
The volunteers also shared a list of destroyed Russian equipment, which included:
- Seven tanks (three T-72 and one T-72BZ)
- Twenty infantry fighting vehicles (BMP-2 and BMP-3)
- Six D-30 howitzers
- Four combat personnel carriers
- Four mortars
- Two MT-12 Rapier anti-tank guns
- Two self-propelled howitzers 2S19 Msta-S
- Two ZALA drones
- One BM 21 Grad multiple launch rocket system
- One mounted anti-tank grenade launcher
- One complex for long-range visual surveillance "Murom"
- One electronic warfare station
- One repeater
- Two armored vehicles
- Two excavators
- Fifty-seven units of various automotive equipment (heavy and light).
Additionally, the militias claimed to have disabled several Russian military assets, including:
- T-80PVM tank
- T-72 tank
- One infantry fighting vehicle
- One Grad multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) with TOS-2 thermobaric warheads
- One 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled artillery unit
- One electronic warfare station
- An armored vehicle
- Twenty vehicles of various types (heavy and light).
The operations also resulted in the destruction or damage of various Russian assets such as personnel concentration areas, ammunition depots, dugouts, towers with antenna systems, fortifications, video surveillance cameras, a cellular communication station, and a bridge in the village of Gorkovsky.
The militias said that beyond the physical losses, the operation has dealt a severe blow to Putin’s image, stating, “The greatest damage was caused to Putin’s image as a figure who can supposedly keep the situation in the country under control.”
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Their statement said that Putin has brought the war to Russia – “Russian cities are burning, Putin’s war machine has been reduced to ashes, Kremlin artillery is wiping out one Russian village after another.”
“And the most important thing is that Putin devours the lives of people – soldiers and civilians – solely in the name of maintaining his power,” pro-Kyiv militias said.
The raids and operations in the border regions mark a significant escalation in the war, with Kyiv-allied Russians undertaking the largest cross-border incursion since the full-scale Kremlin invasion began.
Despite Moscow’s claims of success in repelling the raids, the militias maintain that their forces are organized, on mission, and achieving their objectives.
The raids are ongoing, with panic evident among Russian troops and civilians alike. The extent of damage to civilian properties has primarily been due to Russian army units' shelling and bombing of private residences and businesses.
Earlier, LSR volunteer fighter Alexey Baranovsky, in exclusive comments to Kyiv Post, confirmed reports of civilian houses being shelled by the Russian army in combat with the anti-Putin fighters.
When the Russian military believes that rebel assault troops or Russian anti-Kremlin forces are present in certain areas, they unleash gunfire, mortars, and artillery indiscriminately, Baranovsky said.
“We are no longer in that vicinity, but this doesn’t stop [the Russian army] from wiping the residential buildings of their fellow citizens from the face of the earth,” he said. “This is the warfare style demonstrated by Putin’s army.”
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