Ukraine Launches ‘Counterattack’ in Russia’s Kursk Region, Moscow Says

• Ukrainian forces appear to have launched a new offensive in Russia’s Kursk region.
• Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Ukraine had launched a “counterattack” at around 9 a.m. local time.
• A Ukrainian official said Russia was “getting what it deserves.”

Ukrainian forces appear to have launched a new offensive in the Russian border region of Kursk.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said in a post on Telegram that Ukraine had launched a “counterattack” at around 9 a.m. local time.

“In order to halt the advance of Russian troops in the Kursk direction, the enemy launched a counterattack by an assault group consisting of two tanks, a demolition vehicle, and twelve armored combat vehicles,” it said.

In a short post on Telegram, Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said: “Kursk, good news, Russia is getting what it deserves.”

The scale of the reported offensive is unclear. Ukraine launched an initial incursion into Kursk in August.

Rybar, a Russian war blog with more than 1.3 million subscribers, said that the latest operation could serve as a diversion. The US government has offered up to $10 million for information on Rybar, saying it had attempted “to bolster Russia’s military capabilities and advance pro-Russian and anti-Western narratives.”

“The intensification of the situation in the Kursk region may be a diversionary maneuver for a simultaneous offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in other areas,” read a post on Rybar’s account.

“The Ukrainian command has been hatching plans for several months to break through the defense of the Russian Armed Forces in the Zaporizhzhia region and is probing for weak spots,” it added.

It comes at a potentially pivotal moment for Kyiv as it gears up for the return of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House.

Both Russia and Ukraine are racing to place their respective sides in the best possible position ahead of Trump’s return.

Trump has pledged to bring the war in Ukraine to a swift end but has not detailed how he intends to do so.

Analysts say one possibility is a negotiated cease-fire deal with frozen front lines.

In a post on Truth Social in December, Trump called for an immediate cease-fire and the start of negotiations.

“Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness,” he wrote, adding: “It can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act.”