Ukraine launches counterattack in Russian border region as Zelenskyy to ask allies for boost in air defenses
Ukrainian forces launched a counterattack in the western border region of Kursk, warning that Russia was "getting what it deserves."
Though it was not immediately clear how much Ukraine had advanced in the region, the assault comes at a critical juncture in the nearly three-year conflict with both sides seeking to boost their negotiating hand ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House on Jan. 20.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that he will again call on allies to boost his country's air defenses at a meeting of the Ramstein group in Germany this week.
He said the dozens of partner countries will participate in the meeting "including those who can help boost our capabilities not only to defend against missiles but also against guided bombs and Russian aviation."
"We will discuss this with them and continue to persuade them," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Saturday. "The task remains unchanged: strengthening our air defense."
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin will attend the meeting, which originally had been due to take place in October and attended by President Biden. It was postponed because Hurricane Milton battered the U.S.
In its last few weeks in office, the Biden administration has been pressing to send as much military aid as possible to Ukraine.
Ukraine used two tanks, a dozen armored vehicles and a demolition unit in Sunday's assault, which was headed towards the village of Berdin – about 9 miles northeast of Sudzha, the Russian defense ministry said.
"The operation to destroy the Ukrainian army formations continues," it said.
Pro-Kremlin military bloggers admitted the Russian army had come under pressure but said Moscow was fighting back.
"The main events of the next attempted offensive by the Ukrainian army are clearly still ahead of us," influential pro-Russian Telegram channel Rybar said.
Ukrainian officials gave little detail on the new offensive, with a prominent lawmaker urging silence.
"I can't understand why it is necessary to officially report on the Kursk region. Maybe better to do it afterwards when the operation is over?" Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko said.
Other officials expressed their glee at the fightback, which comes almost three years since Moscow launched its full-scale military assault on Ukraine.
"Russia is getting what it deserves," Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said.
The head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, said on Telegram that defense forces were "working" in the area, without elaborating.
"In the Kursk region, the Russians are very worried because they were attacked from several directions, and it was a surprise for them," he said.
Kyiv seized dozens of villages in the Kursk region shortly after its incursion started on August 6, 2024, but its advances stalled after Moscow rushed reinforcements to the area, including thousands of troops from its ally North Korea.
A Ukrainian army source told AFP last November that Kyiv still controlled around 300 square miles of the Russian border region.
But Kyiv has so far been unable to halt Moscow's advances in Ukraine, which were seven times higher in 2024 than the year prior, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War.
Both Russia and Ukraine have exchanged regular attacks since the year began.
Russia said Sunday it downed dozens of Ukrainian drones overnight in a barrage that damaged homes and triggered air alerts, while Kyiv said Moscow fired 103 drones into its territory.
Four Russian airports briefly suspended traffic early Sunday for "safety" reasons, forcing at least eight planes to divert course, a spokesperson for Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said.
