By Olive Enokido-Lineham, OSINT producer

Ukrainian officials have been tight-lipped about the Kursk operation – but on Telegram, footage of different units offer a brief glimpse into who is involved and where they are inside Russia.  

Geolocated footage posted online within the last two days show Ukrainian units in Sudzha and Dar’ino in the Kursk region close to Russia’s border with Ukraine.  

One video shows three soldiers from Ukraine’s 225th Separate Assault Battalion taking down a Russian flag outside a school in the village of Dar’ino – under 5km from the border. 

The battalion is a unit of Ukraine’s Ground Forces and previously fought in eastern Ukraine near Chasiv Yar which saw fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in May. 

While it’s unclear exactly when the video was taken, it was posted on the battalion’s Telegram channel on Monday. One analyst said the size of Ukrainian battalions can “vary” depending on the type of unit.  

John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia programme at Washington-based thinktank Foundation for Defense of Democracies said Ukrainian battalions are often under strain “so they might not be more than a company level of size – so 100-150 troops”. 

He said it’s unclear from the footage alone to determine exactly what strength the 225th battalion has been fighting at in Kursk. 

Other videos show Ukrainian soldiers walking around the town of Sudzha along with military vehicles. The soldier’s vest reads “Bravo Team” and was posted by the Bravo team Telegram channel – linked with Ukraine’s 130th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion. 

The same channel posted another video filmed from inside a military vehicle inside Sudzha.  

But it’s not just Ukrainian soldiers seen in these videos…. a Ukrainian MP also posted a video online yesterday at border checkpoint between Ukraine and Belgorod – just under 50km south of Sudzha.  

In the Facebook video, Roman Kostenko said he was going into Russian territory with Ukraine’s defence force and would “write a statement” about his “trip”. 

Dozens of other geolocated videos have emerged on Telegram showing soldiers in combat in various parts of the Kursk region. It’s unclear exactly how many Ukrainian units have been involved in the operation that started last week.  

Mr Hardie says the Kursk operation is different in “size, scale and ambition” to previous small-scale raids in the Belgorod region, including the use of regular military units and the number of brigades involved.