Ukrainian forces have made “tactical advances” in a new offensive in the Russian region of Kursk, say military experts.
The Kyiv troops launched attacks in at least three areas within the west Russian region, some using armoured vehicles, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Geolocated footage published on January 5 indicates Ukrainian forces advanced in fields southwest and south of Berdin in the Kursk region and entered the southern part of the settlement, the Washington-based think tank added.
In Moscow, the Ministry of Defence said the Ukrainian offensive on Sunday had been repelled but there were reports of fierce fighting still going on.
Ukrainian soldiers seized a swathe of Kursk in a surprise attack last summer.
Vladimir Putin’s army has failed repeatedly to recapture the land, even though it has gradually pushed back Kyiv forces.
Thousands of North Korean troops have also been deployed for Kursk operations.
But they were so poorly trained that Russian military commanders delayed throwing them into battle and once they did they were reported to have suffered heavy casualties.
In an update on the conflict on Monday, the ISW said: “Ukrainian forces resumed offensive operations in at least three areas within the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast (province) and made tactical advances on January 5.
“Russian forces also advanced southeast of Sudzha and counterattacked against intensified Ukrainian attacks southeast of Korenevo and north of Sudzha on January 5.”
Russia said on Monday it had made an important advance in eastern Ukraine but Russian war bloggers said Moscow’s forces were continuing to fend off a major Ukrainian attack inside western Russia.
The Russian defence ministry said its forces had captured the town of Kurakhove which lies 20 miles south of Pokrovsk, an important Ukrainian logistics hub towards which Russia has been advancing for months.
At the same time, Russian war bloggers said Ukraine was attacking inside Russia’s Kursk region for a second day on Monday, with one describing the situation as worrying.
Ukraine began a new offensive on Sunday in Kursk, where its forces broke across the border on August 6 and for the past five months have resisted Russian attempts to expel them.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces beat back the first Ukrainian attacks on Sunday just north of a highway running towards regional capital Kursk.
But Russian military bloggers, a group of war correspondents and experts who, while supporting Moscow’s effort, have often criticised its shortcomings, said fierce fighting was continuing for a second day.
“The morning in the Kursk region is starting off worryingly again. It is obvious that yesterday’s failure will not stop the enemy and he will try to impose his will on us again today,” one blogger, Yuri Podolyaka, posted on Telegram.
Russia controls about a fifth of Ukraine after nearly three years of war, but Ukraine’s unexpected success in biting off and retaining a slice of Russian territory could boost its negotiating position as both sides gear up for possible peace talks this year.
Both have been striving to improve their battlefield positions before US President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on January 20.
Trump has repeatedly said he will bring a quick end to the war, but without saying how.
