Russia claims to capture village in eastern Ukraine after advances
The Ukrainian air force said on Monday that it shot down two Kh-59 cruise missiles
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Your support makes all the difference.Russian troops in eastern Ukraine have captured the stronghold of Kurakhove after a monthslong battle, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed Monday, adding the wrecked town to the Kremlin’s list of conquests in the partially occupied Donetsk region during the almost three-year war.
The claim, which drew no response from Ukrainian authorities, came a day after the Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces had launched a new thrust in Russia’s Kursk border region.
Kurakhove is a key stronghold for the Ukrainian army on the eastern front line. It has an industrial zone, a thermal power plant and a reservoir. It also sits on a highway running between eastern and southern Ukraine.
Russian forces have also captured the village of Dachenske, just south of the important Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk, the Russian defence ministry said on Monday.
Interfax news agency also quoted the ministry as saying Russia had repelled a Ukrainian attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Sunday, when it said drone debris fell on the roof of a training centre.
Map of Dachenske:
The Ukrainian air force said on Monday that it shot down two Kh-59 cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight.
Of 128 drones launched, 79 drones were shot down and 49 “imitator drones” did not reach their targets, the air force said.
The attack damaged enterprises and private residences in five Ukrainian regions without causing any casualties, the air force added.
According to war trackers, Ukrainian troops launched a second day of multiple attacks on Sunday on the eastern flank of what they already control in Kursk, after partially capturing the region last August.
The Institute for the Study of War, a US based think tank mapping the frontline, said Ukraine had made advances into the southern outskirts of the village of Berdin. It is to the northeast of the city of Sudzha, the most significant area held by Ukraine over the last five months.
Map of Berdin:
It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said security guarantees for Kyiv to end Russia‘s war would only be effective if the United States provides them, and that he hoped to meet U.S. President-elect Donald Trump soon after his inauguration.
In an interview with U.S. podcaster Lex Fridman published on Sunday, Zelenskiy said Ukrainians were counting on Trump to force Moscow to end its war and that Russia would escalate in Europe if Washington were to quit the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance.
Almost three years after Russia‘s invasion, the election of Trump, who returns to the White House on Jan. 20, has sparked hope of a diplomatic resolution to stop the war, but also fears in Kyiv that a quick peace could come at a high price.
Zelenskiy used the three-hour interview published on YouTube to call for Ukraine’s NATO membership, emphasizing his belief that a ceasefire without security guarantees for Kyiv would merely give Russia time to rearm for a new attack.
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