Russian soldiers during training.Image: AP Russian Defense Ministry Pres
kyiv troops have reportedly captured several villages in the Kursk border region as part of a new offensive launched this Sunday. Here’s what we know.
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The Ukrainian armed forces have launched a new offensive in the Kursk border region, which they have partly occupied since August 2024. “Kursk region, good news,” the head of the presidential administration wrote on Telegram this Sunday Ukrainian, Andriï Iermak. And to add:
“Russia gets what it deserves”
Andriï Iermak
Many sources agree that the offensive started this Sunday, while presenting different scenarios as to its outcome. The Ukrainian army limited itself to indicating, as it regularly does, that “fighting” was “in progress” in the region, without giving further details.
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For their part, Russian authorities claimed that Ukrainian troops had launched “a counterattack” around 9 a.m., in order to stop the advance of Russian forces in the area. Moscow claimed to have repelled enemy attacks, including one near the village of Berdine, about 15 kilometers from the border.
“The assault group of the Ukrainian army was defeated by artillery and aviation. The operation to destroy units of the Ukrainian forces continues”
Russian army
Image: watson
“Around 2000 soldiers mobilized”
This “official” version has, however, been contradicted by reports from several Russian military bloggers, who often provide reliable information on the progress of the conflict.
-Thus, one of them indicates that the Ukrainians are pushing north, towards Berdine. Geo-located images even show that the attackers entered the southern part of the town.
Other military bloggers, quoted in the daily report of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank, say that Ukrainian forces are occupying the villages of Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, Martynovka and Mikhaylovka, and have entered the village of Novosotnitsky .
This geo-located image shows a column of Ukrainian armored vehicles advancing towards the village of Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, in the Kursk region of Russia.Image: X
According to the Telegram channel Mash, considered close to the Russian authorities, “the men of the Ukrainian army move in small groups.” Around 2,000 soldiers have been deployed, she adds.
The offensive is said to have started in the area of Soudja, a small town that the Ukrainians have controlled since last August. This is what another Russian blogger reports, who specifies:
“In this offensive, the enemy uses mine clearance vehicles, tanks and other armored vehicles”
A Russian military blogger
The blogger adds that bombers are in action. A Ukrainian officer told CNN that the Russians began heavily shelling the city.
Surprise offensive in August
In August last year, Ukraine launched an offensive against the Kursk region. This operation, which took everyone by surprise, allowed kyiv to get its hands on around 770 km2 of Russian territory.
The incursion did not, however, significantly modify the dynamics of the war, recalls Associated Press. Indeed, military analysts estimate that Ukraine has lost around 40% of the territory it initially conquered.
According to volunteer cartographers from the War Mapper collective, kyiv only controlled some 444 km2 of territory on December 1, 2024. It remains to be seen whether this new attack will succeed in reversing the trend. (asi)
