The Russian military said on Sunday that Ukraine had launched “a counterattack” in the Russian region of Kursk, where kyiv’s forces already control several hundred square kilometers since an offensive in August 2024. “Around 9:00 a.m. (06:00 GMT), the enemy launched a counterattack in order to stop the advance of Russian troops in the Kursk area”indicated in a press release the Russian army, according to which “the assault group of the Ukrainian army was defeated by artillery and aviation”.
“The operation to destroy units of the Ukrainian forces continues”added the Russian army. Since August 2024, Ukraine has occupied several hundred square kilometers of the Russian region of Kursk, on the border, controlling in particular the small town of Soudja. The head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriï Iermak, published a fairly clear message on Telegram, without directly confirming the Ukrainian initiative: “Kursk region, good news. Russia gets what it deserves”.
Channels close to the Kremlin worried
Andriï Kovalenko, an official of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, affirmed that the Russians “were attacked from several sides, which surprised them”. The Telegram channel Mash, known to be close to the Russian authorities, for its part assured that “Ukrainian army men move in small groups. The total number of their troops amounts to 2,000.. According to Russian military bloggers, Ukrainian forces are trying to take control of Berdine, a small town located about 20 kilometers from the border between Ukraine and Russia.
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This new offensive in the Russian region of Kursk by the Ukrainian army comes two weeks before the return to the White House of Donald Trump, who called for a ceasefire “immediate” and promised to obtain a peace agreement to stop “the carnage”without however ever detailing his plan. He also said he was opposed to Ukrainian strikes against Russian territory with American ATACMS missiles, a red line for Moscow.
This offensive also comes five months after a first successful cross-border assault which took Russian forces by surprise, in particular the border guards, a failure for President Vladimir Putin who praises a Russia “more sovereign” since the launch of his men’s assault against Ukraine in February 2022.
