Another reported incident in the Russia-Ukraine war has resurfaced. Information has also emerged that the Ukrainian army has launched a major new operation in the Russian Kursk oblast. Once again it is not Kyiv making such statements, it is the Russians.
A Ukrainian tank crew member took a break from the intense fighting last month near the key city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. AFP
Military bloggers in Russia claimed on Sunday (January 5) that the battle for Kursk included the use of artillery and small arms and that Ukraine was using Western-style armored cars to move groups of soldiers.
There is intense pressure on our units, but they courageously defend their positions,” was the message by the pro-Russian Operativnye Svodki (Operational Reports) channel.
Russian forces have been counterattacking against Ukrainians in Kursk for months. Sergey Bobylev / Sputnik via AP file
The information said little about the fighting
The clashes were said to have taken place around Bolshoye Soldatskoye, a village northeast of Slavyansk, a town that has seen some of the heaviest fighting in the rebellion, while Yuri Podolyak, a pro-Russian blogger from Kharkiv, speculated that the attack may be a decoy for an attack on Glushkovo further west. Podolyak called on people in Glushkovo and the neighbouring Korenevo village to leave.
Later, another experienced blogger, Yuri Podolyak also claimed that after several missteps Russian units sent to the site took control of the situation and completely encircled the Ukrainian forces near a highway leading to the regional capital Kursk north of Donetsk.
Cinematic Kursk governor Alexander Khinshtein urged people to believe only the information provided by authorities and urged the displaced not to return to the dangerous areas without a green light.
The Ukrainian military entered Kursk and crossed the Russian border during a sneak attack on August 6, 2024. They have remained in these places ever since with Russian forces unable to oust them out. This acutely utilized report suggests that the most recent attack put the Russians on the back foot.
In its latest report on the battleground, released on Sunday,
“The Russian Ministry of Defence failed to mention Kursk. However, in an annual Direct Line with Russian citizens last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to kick Ukrainian forces out of the region but did not state when he would do this.”
Possible bargaining chip
Ukraine could occupy and retain territories in Russia, thus having some trump cards in the planned peace talks, both to improve their positions before the peace talks this year.
Some of the agricultural export markets have caused interest in the protectionist regime as US President-elect, Donald Trump prepares to be sworn in on January 20. Trump has vowed to end the war as soon as possible but has not explained how he will achieve that.
At the same time, Kyiv said it had repelled ‘key attack attempts’ in and around Pokrovsk, an important road and rail junction that Russia has been increasingly focusing on for several months.
Ukraine’s air force reported that on Sunday it shot down 61 of 103 drones that had been launched by Russia overnight. Moscow said it had shot down five Ukrainian drones over the Russian territory.
NORTH KOREAN PRESENCE
Ukrainian and Western assessments suggest that at least 11,000 soldiers from Russia’s North Korean ally have been placed in the Kursk region to assist Moscow. The government of Russia has not come out clear concerning the presence of these creatures.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday
“Fighting’s of the day before and of March 3 in just one village of Makhnovka in the Kursk region cost Russia up to a battalion of North Korean infantrymen and Russian paratroopers.”
Unfortunately, he did not give out further information regarding this assertion. A battalion can have a flexible number of individuals, but it can contain several hundreds of troops.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in response to a question at his marathon annual phone-in last month that Russia would drive Ukrainian forces out of Kursk but did not specify when.
Russia now occupies approximately twenty percent of Ukrainian territory, but it is a possibility that soon Ukraine will consolidate its unexpected gains in the shape of control of Russian-occupied Crimea – and this will be a factor in any future peace negotiations of the arrays which will start this year.
Both have been eager to bolster their advantages on the battleground before the inauguration of U S President-elect Donald Trump on Jan 20. Trump has insisted on multiple occasions that America will soon end the war without explaining how.
Although by dedicating some of its best units to the Kursk battle, Ukraine has, however, left its eastern territories less protected where Russians have continued to progress since August at a pace faster than that of the previous year.
With inputs from agencies
Image Source: Multiple agencies
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About the author
Manish Kumar pursued a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Amity University, Haryana. He is an enthusiastic and dedicated writer, who has worked with several ministries of the Government of India and contributed his voice to major campaigns and programmes. Being devoted to practicing significant journalism, Manish does his best to become a voice of change in society. Not only does he tell but also persuade, which is indicative of his strong conviction in the perspective of media.
