Ukraine would have lost 40% of Russian territories in the Kursk region

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Ukraine is reportedly losing ground in the Russian province of Kursk, where the Kyiv army launched a surprise offensive last August.

A senior Ukrainian military official says that more than 40% of the seized land has been lost, with the Russian army having deployed tens of thousands of soldiers to recover this territory.

At the height of the Ukrainian incursion, Russia lost control of some 1,400 km2, compared to 800 km2 currently.

President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the situation in the region, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin's goal was to drive Ukrainian troops out of the region “by January 20 next year” and “all these stories, “All these demonstrative strikes with new missiles are not just for show. He has set himself this task,” he said.

Volodymyr Zelensky also demanded that the generals of the Ukrainian army go into the trenches with the soldiers to boost their morale. “For me, a general who has not been in a trench is not a general, despite his experience. With all due respect, today the most difficult situation is on the line of front, in the trench”insisted the army chief.

Local authorities said more than 120,000 civilians were evacuated after Ukraine's incursion into the region in August.

This offensive created a shock: Kyiv's forces managed to seize several villages and took hundreds of prisoners during the largest attack against Russia since the Second World War.

Last week saw the most significant escalation of hostilities Ukraine has seen since Russia's full-scale invasion and marks a new chapter in the nearly three-year war – tinged with uncertainty and of fear.

Everything came together when US President Joe Biden finally decided to authorize Kyiv to deploy long-range US missiles on Russian territory, which was immediately followed by Moscow's strike on Ukraine with a new experimental ballistic weapon that has alarmed the international community and increased fears of further escalation.