Ukraine surprisingly goes on a counteroffensive in Kursk

The situation at a glance

Ukraine surprisingly goes on a counteroffensive in Kursk

Ukraine is under military pressure. The troops have been on the march back for months. But now the Ukrainian military has unexpectedly launched an advance – into Russian territory.

The Ukrainian armed forces, which have come under pressure, have surprisingly launched a new offensive in the western Russian region of Kursk. “Kursk region, good news: Russia is getting what it deserves,” wrote the head of the presidential office in Kiev, Andriy Yermak, on Telegram – indirectly confirming the move. Russian military blogs initially reported on the unexpected attacks by the Ukrainians.

In the Kursk region, the Russians were surprised and Ukrainian attacks were carried out in several directions, said Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Combating Disinformation at the Security and Defense Council, which reports to the Ukrainian president. The military in Kiev initially did not provide any information.

According to observers, the offensive around two weeks before the inauguration of the future US President Donald Trump on January 20th could serve to highlight Russian weaknesses in order to be in a better position in the expected negotiations to end the war. Recently, the Russians were on the rise in the Kursk region and in the east of Ukraine. The Ukrainian military currently only controls half of the almost 1,000 square kilometers conquered in Kursk in the summer.

Several columns of Ukrainian armored vehicles can be seen marching at high speed in videos that are said to have come from the region. Mine clearance vehicles clear the way. According to Russian military bloggers, Kiev is also heavily using radio jamming mechanisms to take out Russian drones. The main thrust is the arterial road to Kursk, northeast of the small town of Sudja, which the Ukrainians were able to capture in their surprising summer offensive.

The Russian Defense Ministry later announced that Russian artillery and air force had attacked a Ukrainian column heading towards the town of Berdin. Two tanks, a clearing vehicle and seven armored troop vehicles were destroyed. The fighting would continue. The information cannot be independently verified.

Only the evening before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj had also reported heavy losses by Russian units in the attempt to recapture the Kursk region. “In fighting today and yesterday in the vicinity of the village of Makhnovka in the Kursk region alone, the Russian army lost an infantry battalion of North Korean soldiers and Russian paratroopers,” said Zelensky in his evening video message on Friday. The information could not be independently verified.

According to official information, a battalion of the Russian armed forces has a troop strength of up to 500 men.

In recent weeks, videos have emerged again and again that show attempts by Russian units – sometimes reinforced by North Korean soldiers – to storm the Kursk area. You can see many destroyed Russian armored vehicles and killed soldiers. Military experts explain the seemingly hasty attack attempts as Moscow’s aim to gain as much ground as possible before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump in order to have a good starting position in the expected negotiations.

The situation on the battlefield remains difficult for Ukraine. Russian troops continue to attack despite the losses. In the last 24 hours they are said to have gained ground near Kurakhove, near the strategically important city of Pokrovsk, but also in the embattled city of Toretsk.

According to media reports from Kiev, Russia conquered almost 3,600 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory last year – an area almost 1.5 times the size of Saarland. Ukraine suffered the highest territorial losses of 610 square kilometers in November, when the Russians occupied around 20 square kilometers every day, the military blog “Militarnyi” reported, citing maps from “Deepstate”, another military blog. The losses in 2024 are multiples of the previous year.

There is no official confirmation of the numbers. In mid-December, the Ukrainian Telegram channel UA War Infographics estimated the conquests by Russian troops since the beginning of the year at a good 2,800 square kilometers. However, Ukraine still lost 510 square kilometers in December. It is striking that Kiev’s territorial losses increased significantly after its own summer offensive and the conquests in the western Russian region of Kursk.