Five months after Kiev’s surprise invasion of the same border region, Ukraine has launched a new offensive into Russia’s Kursk region. Russia is sending reinforcements, including North Korean soldiers, to push Ukrainian forces out of its territory.
advertisementThe Russian government announced that Ukraine launched a new offensive in Russia’s Kursk region on Sunday.
The first reports emerged Sunday night from Russian military bloggers, saying that Moscow’s military had suddenly come under “strong pressure.” The Russian Ministry of Defense later announced that Russian forces were repelling the attack.
Moscow said Ukraine attacked the village of Berdin in the early morning with two tanks, a demining vehicle and 12 armored fighting vehicles carrying paratroopers.
As with Kiev’s military’s first invasion of Russian territory five months ago, Ukrainian authorities have largely remained silent about the recent operation, adhering to normal operational secrecy.
Andriy Yermak, head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, posted on Telegram that there was “good news” from Kursk. “Russia is getting what it deserves,” Yermak added.
Andriy Kovalenko, director of Ukraine’s official counter-intelligence center, wrote on Telegram that Russian forces had been attacked in several locations in the region.
What is happening now?
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, announced that the Ukrainian military has resumed offensive operations and made tactical advances in at least three areas within the Ukrainian salient of the Kursk region.
Based on claims by Russian military bloggers, Kiev forces carried out multiple attacks east and northeast of Suzha and southeast of Korenevo. Location footage released on Sunday shows Ukrainian forces advancing into fields southwest and south of Berdin and entering the southern part of the settlement.
Kremlin-backed Russian military bloggers mainly expressed concerns that the new operations of the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region could be diversionary operations, and that these operations could become part of a major operation in the future. He argued that it was too early to tell whether that would be the case.
Russian sources also report that Ukraine is introducing new electronic warfare tactics that integrate electronic warfare (EW) and long-range strike capabilities with ground operations**. They are said to have carried out HIMARS attacks near Bolshoe Soldatskoy and other unspecified areas in the Kursk region. Prevent the Russian military from deploying reinforcements, artillery systems, and drone operators.
“Russia’s widespread concerns about its ability to respond to Ukraine’s increasing electronic warfare technology and long-range attack capabilities indicate that the Russian military may struggle to quickly adapt to Ukraine’s battlefield innovations.” ” said the ISW.
Russia’s efforts to expel Ukrainian troops from its territory
For the past few months, the Russian military has been trying to drive Ukrainian forces out of its territory.
Kiev forces reportedly lost up to half of the territory they initially captured after Moscow sent more reinforcements to the region, including North Korean troops.
On the day Ukraine allegedly launched a new offensive in the Kursk region, President Zelensky said Russian and North Korean forces had suffered heavy losses in the fighting.
“Yesterday and today, Russian troops were defeated by a North Korean infantry battalion and Russian paratroopers in battles near a single village, Makhnovka, in the Kursk region,” he said. “This is important.”
advertisementPresident Zelenskyy said last month that around 3,000 North Korean military personnel were killed or wounded in Kursk, a blow to Russia’s prestige and forcing it to send some troops from eastern Ukraine.
Euronews was unable to independently verify these claims.
The new Ukraine attack comes just two weeks before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, and his new administration has signed an agreement to end nearly three years of all-out war with Russia, details of which are unclear. However, there are expectations that it will promote Invasion of Ukraine.
Additional sources of information • ISW, AP
