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Ukrainian forces are advancing on several fronts in Russia's southern Kursk region, even as its forces struggle to hold the line elsewhere on the front.
Russia's defense minister on Sunday said its military had repelled two attacks on Ukraine, while pro-war bloggers confirmed Kyiv forces were on their way to Kursk. The renewed push comes after Ukraine is estimated to have lost about half of the 1,200 sq km it seized in August from Russian territory.
“Kursk region, good news, Russia is getting what it deserves,” Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's presidential administration, wrote on Telegram.
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's anti-disinformation center, the state communications agency, wrote on Telegram that the Russian side would be attacked “in many ways” and “gets very worried” about the “miracle” attack.
Ukrainian authorities did not immediately reveal the purpose of the new attack inside Russia. But this campaign will use up valuable resources and manpower, already in the lowest position on the eastern side where Moscow's forces are rapidly advancing.
Russia will hold less than 4,200 sq km by 2024, the Center for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported this week, adding that more than half of the gains were made from September to November.
Most of these gains were in eastern Ukraine in the Donetsk region, where Russian settlements have become a daily occurrence.
Although Western military analysts He said the invasion of Kursk in Ukraine gave the country the morale it needed, its attempt to capture that region – instead of capturing Russian troops and retreating – caused a shortage of manpower.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksandr Syrskyi said in August that he hoped Russia would withdraw troops from the east to protect its territory. But it soon became clear that Russia was determined to continue its offensive in the Donetsk region and would not move its main combat units to Kursk.
North Korea, a key ally of the Kremlin, since then he has sent thousands own troops to the Kursk region to increase Russian forces in the area. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that hundreds of North Korean soldiers were killed in Kursk between Friday and Saturday. The Financial Times could not verify his claims.
The advance on the front line came at a great cost to the people of Russia, however. Luke Pollard, the UK's deputy defense secretary, told parliament last month that the number of Russian casualties had exceeded 750,000 since the war began.
Russia has continued its daily bombing of Ukrainian cities, towns and power bases behind the front lines, mostly using its steady supply of Iranian-made attack drones. The country has been able to avoid long blackouts, however, thanks to quick repair efforts, electricity purchases from Europe and mild winters.
Zelenskyy said that in the first three days of the new year, Russia used more than 300 drones and 20 missiles.
On New Year's Day, four Russian drones managed to bypass Kyiv's air defenses, striking the city center, including a building just 100m from the Ukrainian presidential palace. Those attack drones used sophisticated satellite navigation antennas, according to electronic warfare experts.