Ukraine has launched a new offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, according to the Kremlin.
The attack turns out to be an effort to dominate new territories after the Ukrainian troops swept the border in a surprise offensive in the same region in August, claiming only 500 square miles (approximately 1,300 m²) and hundreds of prisoners of war.
The Kremlin has since taken back a chunk of its own land but struggled to fully expel the invading troops, even deploying thousands of North Korean soldiers in recent weeks.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously spoken of his plans to hold onto the territory and use it as a bargaining chip in potential peace talks.
In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that Ukraine introduced the attack on Sunday morning with an attack organization consisting of two tanks, a mining cleaning vehicle and twelve armored combat cars with paratroopers.
“The artillery and aviation of the organization of the North [Russian] organization beat the attack of the attack of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” he added, that two Ukrainian attacks had been rejected.
In a Telegram, Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian counter-processing center, said: “Defense forces actively work . . . “
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukraine Presidential Office, said: “Kursk region, News: Russia is getting what it deserves. “
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Reports from Russia’s influential war bloggers, who support Moscow’s war in Ukraine but have often reported critically on failings and setbacks, suggested that the latest Ukrainian assault had put Russian forces on the defensive.
“Despite the enemy’s tension, our sets are heroically maintaining the line,” said the Operativye Svodki channel (operational reports).
It said artillery and small-arms battles were taking place, and Ukraine was using Western-armoured vehicles to bring in large numbers of infantry.
The Ministry of Defense and Bloggers said that the fight was concentrated just north of a dual rating that extends from Sudzha, near the border in Kursk, the regional capital.
One prominent blogger, Yuri Podolyak, said this was most likely a Ukrainian distraction manoeuvre, possibly to prepare a strike on Glushkovo, further west, and he urged civilians there and in another town, Korenevo, to evacuate.
The offensive follows months of setbacks for Ukraine. Since the surprise incursion into Russia in August, the military has been beset by low morale and manpower amid a barrage of Russian attacks.