Five months after storming the southern Russian region of Kursk, Ukrainian forces appeared to have lost the strategic city in eastern Ukraine, but on Monday they began advancing deep into Russia again.
Although the scale of Ukraine’s new offensive in Kursk remains unclear, both Russian and Ukrainian officials said heavy fighting was underway Sunday night. Combat footage geolocated by military analysts shows that Ukraine is trying to breach Russian defenses in at least three directions.
This is the first significant attempt by Ukrainian troops to advance on Kursk since the original attack in August. Since then, Russia has regained about half of its lost territory.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed on Monday that its forces had moved closer to Ukrainian forces in southern Donbas, taking control of the vital but devastated industrial town of Kurakhova after more than two months of dull bombing and heavy strikes. to fight
Ukraine’s military command in the east did not comment on Russia’s claim about the fall of Kurakhove. Soldiers fighting in the area and a local Ukrainian military official said when contacted by phone that while there were pockets of resistance in the surrounding factories, the city was essentially lost. They requested anonymity to discuss sensitive military information.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Defense Minister Andrey Belousov congratulated Russian soldiers for capturing the city on Monday.
The fall of Kurakhove and surrounding cities could allow Russia to expand its territory Attack on the city of Pokrovsk21 miles north, military analysts said.
Russian forces are trying to encircle Pokrovsky, a focal point Hoping to escape the brutal and protracted urban battles south of the fighting in recent months. They advanced to within about a mile of a vital supply route southwest of the city, according to several analyst groups, including the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.
After nearly three years of war, the fighting has intensified along the front, despite both sides being crushed and exhausted.
Dueling attacks by the Ukrainians at Kursk, albeit modestly, and the Russians continuing their all-out offensive in eastern Ukraine, underscored how both the Kremlin and Kiev are trying to make a show of force under President-elect Donald Trump. Analysts said, move to office.
Mr. Trump has promised to end the war quickly, without saying how.
In a three-hour conversation with podcaster Lech Friedman, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was confident Mr. Trump would keep that promise.
“I think President Trump not only has the will, he has all these capabilities, and it’s not just talk.” “I really rely on him, and I think our people really rely on him, so he has enough power to put pressure on Putin.”
The appearance with Elon Musk, who highlighted an interview with a podcaster popular in Trump circles, including on the social media network X, appeared to be an attempt to communicate directly with Trump supporters.
Mr. Zelensky also reaffirmed his belief that there can be no lasting peace unless Ukraine is militarily strong and supported by the United States.
“If we don’t have security guarantees, Putin will come again,” he said.
US Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken echoed those concerns during a visit to South Korea on Monday.
“At some point there will be a ceasefire. It won’t be “game over” in Putin’s mind,” Mr. Blinken told reporters. “His imperial ambitions remain and what he wants to do is rest, rebuild and eventually strike again.”
Mr. Blinken also said that Ukraine’s campaign in Kursk would play an important role in any peace talks.
“The positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region are very important,” he said, “because of course this is something that will be relevant for any negotiations that may take place next year.”
Ukrainian and American officials said North Korea had sent more than 11,000 troops to fight alongside the Russians at Kursk, and Mr. Blinken said the partnership between the two countries continued to grow. He repeated earlier claims that Moscow was willing to supply North Korea with advanced space and satellite technology in exchange for weapons and equipment to help the war effort in Ukraine.
Despite the fact that North Korean troops were drawn into the Battle of Kursk, Ukraine managed to hold more than 150 square miles of territory inside Russia—a little less than half of what it originally captured.
According to military analysts, the amount of territory Ukraine has taken inside Russia is less important than the message the campaign sends to the world.
“Kursk is a strategic shift in the narratives of war,” said Taras Chmut, a former military officer. Come Back LiveCharitable organization that supports the Ukrainian army. “We are talking about the fact that Russia may lose its territories, its territories. It is about the fact that Ukraine can take some unexpected actions and unconventional asymmetric approaches.”
But Ukraine’s latest offensive in Kursk comes as it struggles to stabilize its defense lines.
The loss of Kurakhove, which spans just three square miles, highlighted problems with the way Ukraine manages and deploys its forces, according to Ukrainian analysts and soldiers.
Under pressure to address these concerns, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov ordered a comprehensive review of the military command.
“Winning requires deep analysis of experience and honest understanding of mistakes,” he said.
The issues run deeper than a simple shortage of personnel, analysts and soldiers have said in interviews over the past year.
“When unmanned brigades lose their positions, it’s not always due to insufficient recruitment,” Ukrainian analyst group Frontelligence wrote in a report released Friday.
“Poor organizational decisions, such as sending new recruits to new units rather than strengthening established, veteran brigades, are often to blame.”
The report added: “The window of opportunity to address these identified issues is closing rapidly and inaction is not an option.”
A terrible report Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov’s revelations about the newly formed 155th Anna Kyiv Brigade, trained in France and equipped with Western weapons, have raised concerns about problems in the Ukrainian military and intensified calls for urgent changes.
In December, the State Investigation Bureau opened a criminal case related to the management, staffing and management of the brigade, which has a high rate of desertions.
According to military analysts, Russia faces serious problems, even if they are hidden from public view. The Kremlin maintains tight control over information and dissidents are punished, but despite its superiority in both personnel and weapons, it has been unable to make significant operational progress.
By 2024, Russia had captured 4,168 square kilometers, or about 1,600 square miles, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
While Russian forces have recently advanced as fast as at any point since the early months of the war, the research team said it would take more than two years for the Russians to capture the rest at their current rate. The Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine is still under Ukrainian control.
Liubov Sholudko contributed to the report.
