Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv’s surprise new Kursk attack has Putin’s forces ‘worried’ amid fierce fighting
Russia has lost ‘up to a battalion’ of North Korean and its own forces in past 48 hours, says Zelensky
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Your support makes all the difference.Ukraine has launched a surprise counterattack in the Russian border region of Kursk, causing concern among Vladimir Putin’s forces.
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.
Russian military bloggers, who, though ultimately under the Kremlin’s jurisdiction, tend to write more openly about Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, claimed there was some concern about these latest attacks.
“The morning in the Kursk region is starting off worryingly again. It is obvious that yesterday’s failure will not stop the enemy and he will try to impose his will on us again today,” one blogger, Yuri Podolyaka, posted on Telegram.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia and North Korea were suffering heavy losses in the battles in Kursk.
Zelensky says Russian and North Korean troops suffered significant losses in Kursk
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US says Ukraine’s Kursk attacks key to any negotiations with Putin
US secretary of state Anthony Blinken has described Ukraine’s partial control over the Russian border region as key to any possible future negotiations with Russia.
Speaking in Seoul, South Korea, Mr Blinken said: “The positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region are very important, because, of course, this is what will matter for any negotiations that may take place in the coming year.”
His comments came as Ukraine launched its second day of attacks on the eastern flank of it’s attack in Kursk on Sunday, causing some concern among Putin’s troops, according to online reports.
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Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
By the time February 2025 arrives, marking three years since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the situation on the front line could look very different.
Currently, Russian forces are advancing in the east, slowly but surely, and they are shrinking Ukraine’s partial hold of the border region of Kursk.
That the Russians haven’t been more successful is a testament, above all else, to the resilience of Ukraine’s troops on the ground, many of whom have been fighting continuously for years. Dysfunction in the Russian military, with Mr Putin as its de facto commander-in-chief, is another.
But US president Joe Biden has sent the final military package of his tenure to Ukraine, ending the support (for now) of Kyiv’s most heavily-armed ally. US president-elect Donald Trump will soon re-enter the White House on the promise of ending the fighting altogether, even if that potentially means rewarding Mr Putin for his illegal land grab.
Ukraine-Russia war map 2025: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline?
Russian forces are advancing in the east, slowly but surely, and they are shrinking Ukraine’s partial hold of the border region of Kursk
Ukraine downs two missiles, 79 drones launched by Russia overnight
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down two Kh-59 cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight.
Of 128 drones launched, 79 drones were shot down and 49 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.
Russia says it captures Kurakhove in eastern Ukraine
Russian forces have seized control of Kurakhove, a town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, the Russian defence ministry claimed this morning.
Gaining control over Kurakhove “has significantly hampered the logistics and technical support” of Ukrainian troops, the ministry said.
Kurakhove lies 32km (20 miles) south of Pokrovsk, an important Ukrainian logistics hub towards which Russia has been advancing for months. The two towns are also Russia’s two most prioritised sectors of the frontline.
Zelensky says Russian and North Korean troops suffered significant losses in Kursk
Russian and North Korean forces suffered “significant” losses in intense fighting in Russia’s southern Kursk region, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Speaking during his nightly video address on Saturday, Mr Zelensky cited reports from top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, saying battles near the village of Makhnovka, close to the Ukrainian border, resulted in the loss of up to a battalion of Russian paratroopers and North Korean infantry troops.
“This is significant,” Mr Zelensky said, without providing further details. A battalion typically comprises several hundred soldiers. However, the claims could not be independently verified.
Stuti Mishra reports:
Zelensky reports heavy Russian and North Korean losses in the battlefield
Zelensky says there are ongoing ‘fierce battles’ along entire 1,000km-frontline
Blinken backs Ukraine’s position in Kursk as ‘important’ for negotiations
Ukraine’s position in Russia’s Kursk is critical to any future negotiations, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said today during his trip to South Korea.
“Their position in Kursk is an important one because certainly it’s something that would factor in any negotiation that may come about in the coming year,” Mr Blinken told reporters in Seoul.
“Negotiations on Ukraine ceasefire should lead to a just and durable outcome,” he said today.
Mr Blinken said that the outgoing administration of president Joe Biden wants to ensure that “Ukraine has the strongest possible hand to play”.
Even if negotiations take place, Mr Blinken said Ukraine would still need “adequate security assurances” against Vladimir Putin.
“There is going to be, at some point, a ceasefire. It’s not going to be in Putin’s mind ‘game over’,” Mr Blinken said.
“His imperial ambitions remain, and what he will seek to do is to rest, refit, and eventually re-attack,” the US official said, calling for an “adequate deterrent in place so that he doesn’t do that”.
Toretsk city divided in two as fierce fighting continues
The city of Toretsk has been divided in two as Ukrainian forces continue to fiercely defend the city in the Donetsk region.
Russians have been using scorched earth tactics to try and destroy the city’s infrastructure and Ukrainian military positions, according to DeepState, an open source intelligence organisation.
“There are a lot of resources there. Especially everything related to FPV and attack drones. The enemy does a lot of damage with them,” the acting commander of the Tsunami Regiment is quoted as saying, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
“They also have a lot of artillery. The enemy is constantly carrying out assault operations, constantly working from different directions: from the north, from the south, and from the east.
“They use vehicles, mainly ATVs and motorcycles. So far, no armoured vehicles have been spotted. The fighting is going on in the city itself.
“The line of contact is somewhere in the centre of the city. We can say that the enemy and us cut the city in half.”
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