The new Kursk offensive comes as Ukraine positions itself against the likelihood of Trump applying pressure for a peace deal with Moscow, raising fears that kyiv could be pressured into unfavorable compromises.
And while many Ukrainians want the war, now in its third year, to end, there are concerns that a truce could allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to regroup and launch more attacks when he sees it advantageous.
If truce negotiations are to take place, Ukraine wants to do so from a position of strength, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has remained tenacious in his rhetoric.
Zelenskyy said in his late-night speech Saturday that Russian forces had lost “up to a battalion of infantry, North Korean soldiers and Russian paratroopers.” On a day of battles in Kursk, the latest claim from kyiv or its supporters that North Korean troops have suffered heavy losses.
But the magnitude of Ukraine’s latest offensive in Kursk is still unclear.
Accounts from the Defense Ministry and bloggers said the fighting was concentrated just north of a highway that runs from Sudzha, near the border, to Kursk, the regional capital.
One influential blogger, Yuri Podolyaka, called Ukraine’s attack a “long-awaited last-hope counteroffensive.”
“Fighting continues in the vicinity of Berdin. Intense fighting is taking place and the enemy is making serious advances,” he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry also said in its statement that Ukraine had launched an attack on the village of Berdin, about 25 kilometers from Sudzha. The attack included tanks, a mine clearance vehicle, armored fighting vehicles and paratroopers, he said. But Podolyaka said it was most likely a Ukrainian diversion, possibly to prepare for an attack on Glushkovo further west.
Mick Ryan, senior fellow in military studies at the Lowy Institute, cautioned against premature conclusions, noting that it could take “perhaps 24 to 48 hours to get a good idea of what’s going on with this new Ukrainian offensive.”
