Battles for Olgovskiy Forest

Battle of Olgovskiy Forest
Part of 2024 Kursk offensive
1954 map of the Korenevo-Sudzha Region showing Olgovskiy Forest.
Date 10 September – ongoing (2 months, 2 weeks and 3 days) Location Korenevsky District, Kursk region Status Russia-claimed semi-encirclement of 350 Ukrainian troops
Belligerents
Ukraine	Russia
Strength
Per Russia: ~350 fighters in semi-encirclement, several more outside	Unknown

The Battle of Olgovsky Forest refers to a series of armed engagements between the Russian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine in that took place in September–November 2024 in the Kursk Oblast southeast of Korenevo.

As a result of the counteroffensive launched on the evening of 10 September in the Korenevsky district of the Kursk region^[1] by the Russian Armed Forces in the south-eastern direction, Lyubimovka [ru] was occupied by 14 September as reported by the Institute for the Study of War.^[2] As a result, several units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that had attempted to capture Korenevo in August were semi-encircled in the area south of Olgovka in a salient that had its north-western positions extending into the Olgovsky Forest.^[3][4]

During the second half of September and the first half of November, the Russian Armed Forces attempted to eliminate the remaining salient and carried out continuous attacks on its northern and southern faces— between Olgovka and Kremyanoye [ru] in the north and from Lyubimovka in the south. In turn, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to counterattack from the south, from Darino and Zelenyi Shlyakh [ru], to restore lost positions and thereby assist the semi-encircled units.^[5][6][7]

In the first ten days of November, the Russian Armed Forces were able to narrow the area of ​​semi-encirclement,^[8] and on 17 November, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Russian troops in this area had successfully encircled Ukrainian troops in the Olgovskiy Forest area.^[9] The encircled group was estimated to contain approximately 350 people. The Russian Ministry of Defense also claimed that Ukrainian troops who attempted to break out of the encirclement in small groups were defeated, and that the remaining troops were being “liquidated”.^[10]