Ukraine renews offensive inside Russia

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Ukraine’s forces are advancing in multiple directions in Russia’s southern Kursk region, even as its troops struggle to hold lines elsewhere along the frontline.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its army had repelled two Ukrainian offensives, while pro-war bloggers confirmed that Kiev’s forces were advancing on Kursk. The renewed push comes after Ukraine is estimated to have lost about half of the 1,200 square kilometers it seized in August to Russian territory.

“Kursk region, good news, Russia is getting what it deserves,” wrote Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, in a telegram.

The head of Ukraine’s counter-disinformation center, Andriy Kovalenko, a government communications agency, wrote in Telegram that the Russian side was under attack from “various directions” and “felt great concern” from the “surprise” attack.

Ukrainian authorities did not immediately say the target of the new attack inside Russia. But the operation will inevitably use up precious weapons and manpower, already in short supply on its eastern front where Moscow’s troops are rapidly advancing.

Russia will occupy just under 4,200 square kilometers in 2024, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think-tank, reported this week, a gain of more than half from September to November.

The bulk of these gains were in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where Russian-occupied settlements have become a daily occurrence.

Although Western military analysts Ukraine’s attack on Kursk has given the country a much-needed morale boost, saying Russian troops have increased manpower shortages in their efforts to hold on to the region – instead of seizing it and retreating.

Ukraine’s chief of staff, General Oleksandr Sirsky, said in August that the hope was that Russia would withdraw troops from the east to defend its own 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 Kremlin ally, Thousands have since been sent His own troops in the Kursk region to augment Russian troops in the region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that hundreds of North Korean soldiers had been killed in Kursk between Friday and Saturday. The Financial Times could not verify his claim.

Advances on the Eastern Front came at a great human cost to Russia. Luke Pollard, the UK’s deputy defense secretary, told parliament last month that Russian casualties had exceeded 750,000 since the war began.

Russia continues its daily bombardment of Ukraine’s cities, towns and energy infrastructure, mostly using its now steady supply of Iranian-designed attack drones. The country has managed to avoid prolonged blackouts, however, thanks to quick repair efforts, electricity imports from Europe and a mild winter so far.

Zelensky said Russia deployed more than 300 drones and 20 missiles in the first three days of the new year.

On New Year’s Day, four Russian drones managed to bypass Kiev’s air defenses, striking the city center, including a building just 100 meters from Ukraine’s presidential administration. According to electronic warfare experts, the attack drones used more advanced satellite navigation antennas.