Russia said Sunday that Ukraine had launched a ‘counterattack’ in the western border region of Kursk, where Kyiv’s forces began a shock ground offensive last August.
It was not immediately clear how much Ukraine had advanced in the region, but pro-Kremlin military bloggers reported earlier that a powerful new offensive was underway.
‘At about 9am Moscow time (6am UK time), in order to halt the advance of Russian troops in the Kursk direction, the enemy launched a counterattack,’ the Russian defence ministry said.
Columns of armoured vehicles were seen on footage advancing beyond territory already controlled by Volodymyr Zelensky’s army.
Ukraine used two tanks, a dozen armoured vehicles and a demolition unit in the new offensive, which was headed towards the village of Berdin, the Russian ministry said.
It added: ‘The operation to destroy the Ukrainian army formations continues.’
Pro-Kremlin military bloggers reported earlier that Kyiv was mounting a new offensive in the area, and that its troops were pressing towards the region’s Bolshesoldatsky district.
Ukrainian officials offered limited information about the offensive.
‘Russia is getting what it deserves,’ Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said.
Kyiv seized dozens of villages in the Kursk region shortly after its offensive began last year, but its advances stalled after Moscow rushed reinforcements to the area, including thousands of North Korean troops.
The counterattack included two tanks, a barrier vehicle, and 12 armoured combat vehicles with soldiers who were heading to the Russian settlement of Berdin, and most of them were destroyed.
A day before Ukraine’s surprise attack, Zelensky had claimed: ‘Over the past two days, near Makhnovka [a village in Sudzhansky District of Kursk region], Russian forces lost a battalion composed of North Korean infantry and Russian paratroopers.’
