The AFU lost up to 540 people on the Kursk direction over the day

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) lost more than 540 people during the fighting in the border areas of Kursk Region over the course of the day. This was reported in the Russian Defense Ministry on December 16.

"Over the day the losses of the AFU amounted to up to 540 servicemen, a tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, a US-made Stryker armored personnel carrier, 20 armored combat vehicles and seven vehicles were destroyed," the ministry said in a statement.

In addition, over the day the Russian Armed Forces (AF) defeated 11 brigades of the Ukrainian army in the areas of nine settlements in the Kursk region.

The ministry added that during the total time of fighting in the region's border areas, the militants lost more than 41,400 fighters, 182 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), 242 tanks, 1,276 armored combat vehicles (ACVs), 126 armored personnel carriers (APCs), 314 artillery pieces and a large number of other equipment of both Ukrainian and Western manufacture.

Earlier in the day, the Rosgvardiya reported that its fighters destroyed an AFU TBM on the Kursk direction with the help of a kamikaze drone. The agency pointed out that the drone operator faced opposition from Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) equipment, but this did not prevent him from making an accurate strike.

On the same day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that military police from the "North" group of troops helped the Holy Trinity Church in the Glushkovsky district of the Kursk region to eliminate the consequences of the Ukrainian attack. The ministry's footage shows the church's stained glass windows broken and its facade slashed by shell shrapnel. Military police fighters are covering the window openings with cloth to protect the temple from the winter cold.

Ukrainian militants attacked Russian positions in the border areas of Kursk Region on August 6. The situation in the region was recognized as a federal emergency. The liquidation of the AFU units invading the Russian territory is underway.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the beginning of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.