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.
Putin and Trump are deluded about one another – and Ukraine will pay the price
Tom Watling6 January 2025 11:24
Russia claims control over another village just south of Ukraine’s Pokrovsk
Russian forces have reportedly captured the village of Dachenske, just south of the important Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk, the Russian defence ministry claimed on Monday.
Earlier, they claimed to have taken control of the Ukrainian town of Kurakhove to the south.
The Independent could not verify these claims, however Ukrainian war tracker DeepState, known to have close ties to the military, recorded Dachenske as at least partially under Russian control.
Tom Watling6 January 2025 10:55
Ukraine is right to turn off the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
Ukraine is right to turn off the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
Editorial: Almost three years after Putin’s invasion, it almost beggars belief that cheap energy from Russia was still being piped across war-ravaged Ukraine into Europe. Stopping it has triggered another global price spiral, and may yet have dire political consequences – but EU leaders cannot afford to maintain this habit
Tom Watling6 January 2025 10:33
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Tom Watling6 January 2025 10:02
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.
Tom Watling6 January 2025 09:32
Russia-appointed officials in Crimea declare emergency as oil spill reaches Sevastopol
Tom Watling6 January 2025 08:55
Ukraine will ask allies to boost its air defenses at a meeting in Germany, Zelenskyy says
Tom Watling6 January 2025 08:23
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
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.
Arpan Rai6 January 2025 08:00
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.
Arpan Rai6 January 2025 07:46
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.
Arpan Rai6 January 2025 07:32
