Russia launches Kursk counteroffensive against Ukraine
Russia has launched a major counterattack in its Kursk border region, more than a month after a surprise invasion by Kyiv’s forces that turned the tables in the two-and-a-half-year war.
Russia has launched a major counterattack in its Kursk border region, more than a month after a surprise invasion by Kyiv’s forces that turned the tables in the two-and-a-half-year war.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that 10 settlements had been recaptured as a result of “offensive operations” in Kursk since Tuesday, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the “Russians have started counteroffensive actions,” adding that “everything is going in accordance with our Ukrainian plan.”
It remains to be seen whether the news, which confirmed days of speculation by influential military bloggers in both countries, represents a full-blown counteroffensive or a probing of the ground for a bigger operation in the future.
But either way, it's the first significant effort to retake Russian territory that has been under Ukrainian control for weeks as President Vladimir Putin appeared to prioritize his own offensive on the eastern front lines of the war.
Ukraine has claimed to hold some 500 square miles of Russian territory in Kursk after sweeping across the border on Aug. 6 and taking Moscow by surprise.
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