Ukraine launches new offensive in Kursk, Russia

2025-01-05 14:16:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Ukrainian army has launched a new offensive in Russia's Kursk region, according to preliminary statements by Ukrainian officials and reports on several pro-Russian channels on the Telegram platform.

The sudden offensive was announced by Andriy Kovalenko, head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine's Anti-Disinformation Center, in a post on X - the platform formerly known as Twitter.

He said that the Russian forces in Kursk were "attacked in several directions, in a surprising way".

Even the chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has mentioned the attack indirectly on Telegram.

"Kursk region, good news, Russia is getting what it deserves," he said.

The offensive was reported to have started from the center of Sudzha, which has been under Ukrainian control since August 2024, and continued towards Bolshoye Soldatskoye, about 70 kilometers from the city of Kursk.

The Ukrainian military has not yet commented on the reports of attacks, but the Russian Ministry of Defense said through the state news agency TASS that "around 9:00 a.m., Ukrainian armed forces launched a counterattack to block the advance of Russian troops in the direction of Kursk." ".

Radio Free Europe has not independently verified the new developments in Kursk.

According to Russian Telegram accounts that closely monitor developments on the battlefield, attacks are being carried out with armored vehicles, mine-clearing equipment, electrical warfare systems, and other weapons that are successfully combating Russian drones.

Ukrainian troops also carried out a surprise offensive in Kursk in August.

Almost half of the land captured by the Ukrainians is back under Russian control, but Kiev has control over Sudazhn, and about 500 square kilometers of Russian territory.

In the last few days there have been reports on Telegram about new Ukrainian offensives, as there are still a few days left until the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States.

Throughout the election campaign, he has vowed that if he wins, he will end Moscow's war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the war a "special military operation" to demilitarize Ukraine.

The West has responded to Russia, hitting the economy of this country with harsh sanctions.

As a result of the war, thousands of people have died and millions more have been displaced from their homes./REL