Russian draftees to be sent to Belgorod Oblast to face Ukrainian troops
Russia's military command plans to deploy conscripts from the 18th Rifle Battalion of the 488th Motorized Rifle Regiment to Belgorod Oblast for combat against Ukrainian forces, just months before their demobilization, the “I Want to Live” project of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on Telegram on April 7.
"We were approached by conscripts of the 18th battalion with a request to ‘raise a stink because they want to send them back to the front line," said “I Want to Live”, an initiative backed by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense and Main Intelligence Directorate, publishing a list of 375 names.
“They handed us a list of conscripts whom the command plans to send this month.”
Currently stationed at checkpoints near Glushkovo in Kursk Oblast—previously based in Durovo—the battalion is slated for redeployment to Zabuzhevka.
"To then throw them into assault operations against the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the settlements of Demidovka and Popovka in Belgorod Oblast," the Coordination Headquarters added.
According to the soldiers of the 18th Battalion, most of them were drafted in April-June 2024 and are to be demobilized by the end of the summer.
"Another 24 soldiers of the battalion, mostly from the 3rd Rifle Company, including the company's deputy commander for military-political work, Senior Lieutenant Alibek Karashev, were taken prisoner after the Kursk disaster of the Russian Armed Forces in August [2024]," the headquarters said.
I Want to Live also communicated with many of them and warned them that they would not be dismissed from service after their return from captivity. This is exactly what happened, the Coordination Headquarters stated.
Fighting in Belgorod Oblast
Geolocated combat footage indicates Ukrainian troops are attempting to breach the Russian border at multiple points.
On March 18, Ukraine’s Air Force struck a command post of a unit from the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division of Russia’s 20th Army near Demidovka in Belgorod Oblast.
On March 22, the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War reported slight Ukrainian advances in western part of Belgorod Oblast.
On March 25, analysts confirmed Ukrainian forces had reached Demidovka along the border in the region’s northwest.
On March 27, Forbes reported that Ukrainian Su-27s were striking bridges in an attempt to isolate Russian troops in Belgorod Oblast.
On March 31, the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council reported that an enemy ammunition depot had been destroyed in Belgorod Oblast.
A March 29 report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) stated that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had advanced in northwestern Belgorod Oblast. According to analysts who have studied geolocation footage, the Ukrainian military recently advanced to the eastern part of Popovka in Belgorod Oblast. Russian military commanders acknowledged that Ukrainian forces had advanced to the outskirts of Popovka.
On April 2, footage was posted online of the alleged destruction of a dam in Belgorod Oblast using a FAB-3000 bomb weighing about three tons. The Russians allegedly did this to prevent the movement of Ukrainian armored vehicles.
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