Ukraine has launched a new assault in the Russian region of Kursk in recent hours, five months after Kyiv’s surprise incursion into the same border area.
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Ukraine launched a new assault in Russia’s Kursk region on Sunday, according to Moscow.
The first reports were released on Sunday night by Russian military bloggers, who said that Moscow troops had suddenly been subjected to a “strong pressure”. The Russian Defense Ministry later announced that its forces were repelling the attacks.
According to Moscow’s statement, Ukraine attacked early in the morning near the village of Berdin with two tanks, a mine clearance vehicle and 12 armored fighting vehicles with paratroopers.
As during the first incursion of Kyiv’s troops into Russian territory five months ago, the Ukrainian authorities have remained very discreet about this recent operation.
Andriy Yermak, head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said on Telegram that there were “good news” from Kursk. “Russia only gets what it deserves”he added.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s official center for combating disinformation, wrote on Telegram that Russian troops had been attacked in several places in the region.
What is happening right now?
The US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Ukrainian forces had resumed offensive operations in at least three areas of the Ukrainian salient in the Kursk region, making tactical advances.
According to claims by Russian military bloggers, Kyiv’s troops carried out multiple attacks east and northeast of Sudja and southeast of Korenevo. Geotagged images released on Sunday indicate that Ukrainian forces advanced into the fields southwest and south of Berdin and entered the southern part of the settlement.
Kremlin-sponsored Russian military bloggers have widely expressed concern that Ukraine’s new effort in the Kursk region could be a diversion, saying it is too early to determine whether such operations could be part of a future main effort.
Russian sources also report that Ukraine is implementing new electronic warfare tactics, integrating electronic warfare (EW) and long-range strike capabilities with ground operations.** Ukraine reportedly conducted HIMARS strikes near Bolshoye Soldatskoye and other unspecified areas in the Kursk region in order to prevent Russian forces from deploying reinforcements, artillery systems and drone operators.
“Widespread Russian concern about Russia’s ability to respond to Ukraine’s improving electronic warfare technology and long-range strike capabilities indicates that Russian forces may struggle to quickly adapt to Ukrainian innovations on the battlefield”said the ISW.
Russia’s efforts to push Ukrainian troops out of its territory
In recent months, Russian forces have attempted to push Ukrainian troops out of their territory.
Kyiv’s forces reportedly lost up to half of the territory they initially conquered after Moscow sent new reinforcements to the region, including North Korean troops.
On the day Ukraine reportedly launched a new attack in the Kursk region, Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian and North Korean troops had suffered heavy losses in the fighting.
“In yesterday’s and today’s battles near a single village, Makhnovka, in the Kursk region, the Russian army lost up to a battalion of North Korean infantrymen and paratroopers Russian”he said. “It’s significant.”
ADVERTISEMENTUkraine’s president said last month that some 3,000 North Korean troops had been killed or wounded in Kursk, dealing a blow to Russia’s prestige and forcing it to deploy some of its troops from the eastern Ukraine.
Euronews was unable to independently verify these claims.
The new Ukrainian assault comes just two weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, with hopes that his new administration will push for a deal – the details of which remain unclear – to end nearly three years of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
