Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russian and North Korean troops suffered significant losses in Kursk, Zelensky says
Ukrainian and Western sources estimate about 11,000 North Korean troops are stationed in Kursk
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Russian and North Korean forces suffered heavy losses near the village of Makhnovka in Russia’s southern Kursk region, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“In battles yesterday and today near just one village, Makhnovka, the Russian army lost up to a battalion of North Korean infantry soldiers and Russian paratroops,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address yesterday, calling the losses “significant.”
Ukrainian and Western sources estimate about 11,000 North Korean troops are stationed in Kursk, where Ukrainian forces gained territory after a cross-border incursion in August.
Meanwhile, Russia called the drone strike that killed a Russian reporter in eastern Ukraine a “deliberate murder”.
Russian media outlet Izvestia said that a Ukrainian drone strike killed a reporter near the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described it as “another brutal crime in a series of bloody atrocities” of President Zelensky’s government “which openly resorts to terrorist methods to eliminate its ideological opponents”.
Data previously provided by the Committee to Protect Journalists counted at least 15 journalists killed since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Ukraine is right to turn off the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
From Poland’s ‘iron dome’ to boots on the ground: How Europe is preparing for a Third World War
Kremlin supporters tout Trump takeover threats as aiding Putin’s expansionist goals
President-elect Donald Trump has boasted on social media about taking over Greenland, making Canada the 51st state, and wresting control of the Panama Canal.
His expansionist rhetoric has worried allies but elated enemies, with Russians viewing the statements as evidence that Trump isn’t opposed to foreign wars of conquest, as is the Kremlin, despite what he has otherwise stated.
To Russian president Vladimir Putin’s top propagandists, Trump’s statements have revealed that he would blithely invade a country unable to fight back, according to Julia Davis, an observer of Russian media and columnist at The Daily Beast.
Kremlin supporters tout Trump takeover threats as aiding Putin’s expansionist goals
By talking of making Canada the 51st state, “Trump is basically saying, ‘Russians, you can take the Baltics,’” said TV host
Russia lost 420,000 soldiers to gain 4,168sq km in Ukraine and Kursk last year, ISW says
Russian forces gained 4,168sq km of land, largely fields and small settlements in Ukraine and the Kursk region, in 2024 but suffered over 420,000 casualties in the process, an American think tank monitoring the war has claimed.
The Institute for the Study of War cited Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi’s remarks last week that Russian forces suffered 427,000 casualties in 2024.
“ISW has observed geolocated evidence to assess that the Russian forces advanced 4,168 square kilometers in 2024, indicating that Russian forces suffered approximately 102 casualties per square kilometer of Ukrainian territory seized,” it said in an assessment released on Wednesday.
Russian forces made 56.5 per cent of their 2024 territorial gains between September and November period, it added.
Zelensky says Ukraine is preparing to resume diplomatic ties with Syria
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is preparing to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria.
“We are preparing to resume diplomatic relations with Syria and cooperation in international organisations,” Mr Zelensky said after hearing the report from Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha’s visit to Syria on Monday.
Photos: Family gathers for the funeral of Ukrainian serviceman ‘Harvey'
Zelensky pushes for stabilising frontline: ‘We will do everything'
Volodymyr Zelensky has said stabilising the frontline was critical as Russian forces have captured village after village on the eastern front in their fastest advance since the February 2022 invasion.
“They are putting pressure on our boys, who are exhausted and that is a fact. We will do everything to at least stabilise the front in January,” he said.
Mr Zelensky, elected in 2019, repeated that new elections could not be held as long as a wartime state of emergency remained in place, but said he would consider running again once conditions permitted.
“I don’t know how this war will end,” he said. “If I can do more than I am able, then I will probably view such a decision (seeking a new term) more positively. For now this is not an objective for me.”
How 2025 could bring Putin closer to victory over Europe
How 2025 could bring Putin closer to victory over Europe
With a Russian apologist preparing to return to the White House, Keir Giles plots out how he believes Putin will use the new American president, Ukraine’s defenselessness, and the chill of life without a US security blanket, to proceed with his long-term goals of domination
Zelensky says Trump can be decisive in helping stop Putin
President-elect Donald Trump could be decisive in the outcome of the 34-month-old war with Russia and help stop Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Mr Zelensky, facing advances by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, said in an interview with Ukrainian television that Mr Trump had told him he would be one of the first to visit Washington after the presidential inauguration this month.
The Ukrainian president also said a priority was to stabilise the frontline early in the new year. Mr Putin, he said, feared negotiations as they would be tantamount to a defeat for Russia.
“He’s very strong and unpredictable, and I would really like to see President Trump’s unpredictability apply to Russia. I believe he really wants to end the war,” he said. “Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” he said in a televised interview.
“His qualities are indeed there,” Mr Zelensky said of Mr Trump. “He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this.”
Oil spill in Black Sea smaller than first thought, Russia says
Russian investigators have determined that an oil spill from two tankers in the Black Sea last month was smaller than initially thought, the transport ministry said.
The oil leaked from two ageing tankers that were hit by a storm on 15 December. One sank and the other ran aground.
More than 10,000 people have been working to shovel up viscous, foul-smelling fuel oil from sandy beaches in and around Anapa, a popular summer resort. Environmental groups have reported deaths of dolphins, porpoises and sea birds.
The ministry said experts had established that approximately 2,400 metric tons of oil products had spilled into the sea.
“This is significantly less than the initial estimate, which was based on the account of one of the tanker captains,” it said.
When the disaster struck, state media reported that the stricken tankers, both more than 50 years old, were carrying some 9,200 metric tons (62,000 barrels) of oil products in total.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments