--- title: Ukraine Forces Launch Counter-Attack on Russia's Kursk Region | TIME description: An arsenal of millions of autonomous drones is a credible threat to a mechanized assault or a flotilla of ships. A state-of-the-art drone swarm could halt a Russian invasion or a Chinese blockade. Ukraine has proven this by blunting large-scale Russian mechanized attacks and crippling Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Kyiv’s expert use of drones is the reason it has been able to launch a surprise offensive deep into the Russian region of Kursk. canonical: https://time.com/video/m7EAcnld/ og:title: Ukraine Forces Launch Counter-Attack on Russia's Kursk Region og:description: An arsenal of millions of autonomous drones is a credible threat to a mechanized assault or a flotilla of ships. A state-of-the-art drone swarm could halt a Russian invasion or a Chinese blockade. Ukraine has proven this by blunting large-scale Russian mechanized attacks and crippling Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Kyiv’s expert use of drones is the reason it has been able to launch a surprise offensive deep into the Russian region of Kursk. og:url: https://time.com/video/m7EAcnld/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/m7EAcnld/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ukraine Forces Launch Counter-Attack on Russia's Kursk Region twitter:description: An arsenal of millions of autonomous drones is a credible threat to a mechanized assault or a flotilla of ships. A state-of-the-art drone swarm could halt a Russian invasion or a Chinese blockade. Ukraine has proven this by blunting large-scale Russian mechanized attacks and crippling Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Kyiv’s expert use of drones is the reason it has been able to launch a surprise offensive deep into the Russian region of Kursk. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/m7EAcnld/poster.jpg?width=720 --- * World # Ukraine Forces Launch Counter-Attack on Russia's Kursk Region > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Ukraine Forces Launch Counter-Attack on Russia's Kursk Region [Watch (HLS stream): Ukraine Forces Launch Counter-Attack on Russia's Kursk Region](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/m7EAcnld.m3u8) (1:23)  _Published 2024-08-13. An arsenal of millions of autonomous drones is a credible threat to a mechanized assault or a flotilla of ships. A state-of-the-art drone swarm could halt a Russian invasion or a Chinese blockade. Ukraine has proven this by blunting large-scale Russian mechanized attacks and crippling Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Kyiv’s expert use of drones is the reason it has been able to launch a surprise offensive deep into the Russian region of Kursk._ --- Aug 13, 2024 4:20 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Ukrainian Drone Attack Sparks Huge Blaze at Oil Facility in Southern Russia](/video/KhLzleC9/) ### Ukrainian Drone Attack Sparks Huge Blaze at Oil Facility in Southern Russia [Russia Launches Pre-dawn Attack on Ukraine’s Capital](/video/SC4cACnm/) ### Russia Launches Pre-dawn Attack on Ukraine’s Capital [Putin Puts Russia's Nuclear Forces on High Alert](/video/hS0hprZP/) ### Putin Puts Russia's Nuclear Forces on High Alert --- ## Transcript Ukrainian forces launched a daring military incursion into Russia's KRSk border region last week. Officials here have been tight lipped about what exactly the operational aims are. And while Russian sources continued to report on combat clashes and ongoing evacuations in that territory, Ukrainian President Vodomo Zelensky has only referenced it indirectly. Now, footage and information coming out of KRS right now are limited. But what we can determine is that Ukrainian forces clearly identified a vulnerability along this line and faced very little resistance in the initial moments of the operation when they overran border settlements and advanced up to 20 to 30 kilometers deep, depending on various estimates. Russia scrambled to respond to this operation in the initial days. It wasn't until the sixth or seventh day that we really started noticing Russian reserves being deployed and counterattacks being launched. Now there are many questions remaining about the strategic value of this territory. Why would Ukraine launch an operation like this at this point in the war when their soldiers are outmanned in the Donetsk region, which is Russia's main effort in this war at the moment. Sure, it makes Putin look bad. It might even strengthen Ke's hand in any future negotiation, but at what cost Um, evidence is already emerging that Ukrainian forces are suffering casualties. They're losing manpower resources that they simply cannot afford to lose. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ukraine Forces Launch Counter-Attack on Russia's Kursk Region","description":"An arsenal of millions of autonomous drones is a credible threat to a mechanized assault or a flotilla of ships. A state-of-the-art drone swarm could halt a Russian invasion or a Chinese blockade. Ukraine has proven this by blunting large-scale Russian mechanized attacks and crippling Russia’s Black Sea fleet. 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