The Russian military said Sunday that Ukraine launched “a counterattack“in the Russian Kursk region, where kyiv forces already control several hundred square kilometers since an offensive in August 2024. It is not yet possible to estimate how much Ukraine has advanced in the region, but pro-Kremlin military bloggers have reported that a powerful new Ukrainian offensive is underway.
“At around 9:00 a.m. local time (06:00 GMT), the enemy launched a counterattack in order to stop the advance of Russian troops in the area of Kursk“said the Russian Ministry of Defense in a statement. For its part, the Ukrainian side remained silent, and only the head of the office of the president of Ukraine, Andrey Yarmak, briefly assured that Russia was receiving “what it deserves.”
Ukraine used two tanks, a dozen armored vehicles and a demolition unit in his new offensivewhich was heading towards the town of the sameadded the ministry. “The operation to destroy the assault group of the Ukrainian army continues,” he added.
Ukrainian forces took the city of Sudzha shortly after launching their offensive last August and have held it under their control ever since. Ukrainian officials have offered limited information about the offensive. “The Russians are very worried by the Kursk region because they were attacked from several directions and it was a surprise for them,” Yarmak added.
Several pro-Kremlin military bloggers admitted that the Russian army was under pressure in Kursk. “The main events of the new offensive of the Ukrainian army are clearly yet to come,” said famous pro-Russian blogger Rybar.
North Korean troops
kyiv took dozens of towns in the Kursk region after beginning its offensive on August 6, 2024, but its advances stalled after Russia sent reinforcements to the area, including thousands of soldiers of its North Korean ally. The Ukrainian president Volodímir Zelenski said Saturday night that “about a infantry soldier battalion North Koreans and Russian air troops” were defeated in several engagements in the Kursk region that day and the day before.
The new Ukrainian military offensive takes place in a critical moment of the conflict, which has now lasted three years, since the US president-elect Donald Trump, whose inauguration will take place on January 20promised to quickly negotiate a ceasefire between kyiv and Moscow. Outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration has pledged nearly $6 billion in military and budget aid to Ukraine ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
Russia and Ukraine have attacked each other regularly since the beginning of the year. Moscow announced on Saturday that it shot down dozens of drones Ukrainians the night before in a bombing raid that damaged buildings and set off anti-aircraft alarms. For its part, kyiv said that Russia launched 103 drones into its territory. Four Russian airports briefly suspended air traffic on Sunday for “security” reasons, forcing at least eight planes a change courseaccording to a spokesman for Rosaviatsia, the Russian civil aviation agency.
