Kiev [Ukraine], January 6: Ukrainian forces have begun a new offensive in the western Russian region of Kursk, following their surprise incursion into the territory last summer, the government in Kiev announced on Sunday.
"Kursk region, good news: Russia is getting what it deserves," the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram, thus indirectly confirming reports by military bloggers on a new advance in Kursk.
The Russians had been taken by surprise in the Kursk area, and Ukrainian attacks are ongoing in several directions, said Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defence Council, which reports to the Ukrainian president.
The military itself did not initially provide any information about the attacks.
The main target appears to be the road to Kursk, north-east of the small town of Sudzha, which the Ukrainians were able to take during their surprise summer offensive.
Recently, the Russians had been advancing in the Kursk region as well as in eastern Ukraine. Currently, Ukrainian forces control only half of the nearly 1,000 square kilometres captured in Kursk over the summer.
Armoured columns on the march Videos purportedly from the region show several columns of armoured Ukrainian vehicles moving at high speed, with mine-clearing vehicles leading the way.
According to Russian military bloggers, Kiev is also heavily employing electronic jamming to neutralize Russian drones. The primary thrust is reportedly aimed at the road leading to Kursk, north-east of Sudzha.
Russia confirms advance The Russian Defence Ministry has since issued a statement saying that Russian artillery and air force had attacked a Ukrainian convoy on its way to the village of Berdin.
Two tanks, a bulldozer and seven armoured troop-carrying vehicles were destroyed in the attack. The fighting continues, it said. The information cannot be independently verified.
Russians recently suffered heavy losses in their own offensive Just the evening before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported heavy losses of Russian units attempting to recapture the Kursk region.
"In fighting today and yesterday around the settlement of Makhnivka in the Kursk region, the Russian army has lost an infantry battalion of North Korean soldiers and Russian paratroopers," Zelensky said in his nightly video message. These reports were not independently verifiable.
A battalion of the Russian forces officially has a troop strength of up to 500 men.
In recent weeks, videos have repeatedly surfaced showing attempts by Russian units, sometimes reinforced by North Korean soldiers, to storm the Kursk region. The footage often shows destroyed Russian armoured vehicles and dead soldiers. Military experts attribute the seemingly rushed assault attempts to Moscow's desire to gain as much ground as possible before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, to secure a favourable position in anticipated negotiations.
Ukraine remains on the defensive The situation on the battlefield remains challenging for Ukraine.
Despite the reported losses, Russian troops continued to attack on Sunday. Over the past 24 hours, they have reportedly made territorial gains near Kurakhove, near the strategically important city of Pokrovsk, and also in the contested city of Toretsk.
Russia captured nearly 3,600 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory in the past year, media reports from Kiev said on Sunday.
Source: Qatar Tribune
