MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Monday it had made a significant advance in eastern Ukraine, although Russian military bloggers said Moscow’s forces continued to repel a Ukrainian attack inside the territory. Russian.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had captured the town of Kurakhove, 32 km south of Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian logistics hub towards which Russian forces have been advancing for months.
The ministry said the weeks-long capture of Kurakhove would allow Russian forces to accelerate their advance into Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState, which tracks the front line using open sources, showed that most of Kurakhove was under Russian control. Ukraine’s Khortytsia Force Group said Russian forces continued to attack Kurakhove, but the Ukrainian side was working to identify and repel Russian assault groups on this part of the front.
Russian war bloggers said Ukraine was attacking in the Kursk region for the second day. One of them described the situation as worrying.
Ukraine launched a new offensive on Sunday in Kursk, where its forces crossed the border on August 6 and have resisted Russian attempts to expel them for the past five months.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces repelled initial Ukrainian attacks on Sunday just north of a highway leading to the regional capital Kursk.
But Russian military bloggers – a group of war correspondents and experts who, while supporting Moscow’s efforts, have often criticized its shortcomings – said heavy fighting continued for a second day.
“The morning begins again in an ominous manner in the Kursk region. It is obvious that yesterday’s failure will not stop the enemy and that he will again try to impose his will on us today,” he said. declared a blogger, Yuri Podolyaka, on Telegram.
TRADING COIN
Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine after nearly three years of war, but Ukraine’s success in seizing and retaining part of Russian territory could strengthen its negotiating position as the two sides clash. are preparing for possible peace talks this year.
Both are working to improve their battlefield positions ahead of the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20. Trump has repeatedly said he would end the war quickly, without saying how.
Ukrainian and Western assessments suggest that around 11,000 troops from Russia’s ally North Korea have been deployed to the Kursk region to support Moscow’s forces. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that more than 1,000 North Korean troops had been killed or injured. Reuters does not have access to the Kursk war zone and cannot verify battlefield counts or casualty counts.
In reaction to the new Ukrainian offensive, the United States and Great Britain reaffirmed their support for kyiv on Sunday.
“We are committed to putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield, including by increasing security assistance and using all available resources authorized by Congress,” a spokesperson said. from the US Department of State.
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “Ukraine has the right to defend itself against Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and barbaric invasion. The UK will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. »
