(Dan Tri) - Ukraine continues to make efforts to advance in Kursk province, despite Russia's counterattack to push enemy forces out of its territory.
An explosion in Lgov, Kursk province, Russia (Photo: Forbes).
A group of Russian soldiers in Lgov, a town of 21,000 people in Kursk province, western Russia, was attacked on the night of December 29 and early morning of December 30.
"It's terrible. They're all in the bunker," a passerby said as the bunker burned.
A Ukrainian official said the fire was the result of a raid by Ukrainian forces in Lgov on Russian positions.
Lgov lies just 48km north of the town of Sudzha. It is a vital road and rail junction, helping to transport troops and supplies to support the two-month-long Russian counter-offensive in Kursk.
Sudzha, which had a pre-conflict population of around 5,000, is one of the largest towns that Ukraine has claimed control of in Kursk since Kiev launched its offensive on the Russian border on August 6. The town is the last transit point for Russian natural gas to Europe via Ukraine.
Ukraine has previously targeted Lgov, most notably around Christmas, when Ukrainian ammunition – possibly from a US-made high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) – destroyed a command post of the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade, one of the units at the forefront of the Russian counteroffensive.
The Ukrainian Strategic Communications Center said the attack was "fierce" and came just days before Russia withdrew its 810th Naval Infantry Brigade from the front line to avoid losses.
Ukrainian air strikes on Lgov explain why 50,000 Russian troops, reportedly backed by North Korea, have been unable to push Ukrainian forces back from Kursk, after Kiev launched a surprise offensive on the Russian border in August.
Finnish analyst Joni Askola noted that Russia "is still fighting on its own territory and cannot push Ukraine out of Kursk".
Location of Kursk province of Russia (Photo: Economist).
Ukrainian forces continue their campaign of attacks on Russian units with mines, drones and artillery. Kiev is also disrupting Russian logistics, reinforcement and command lines with rocket attacks from dozens of kilometers away.
Meanwhile, Russia also attacked Ukrainian positions and claimed to have caused heavy losses to Kiev forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on December 30 that the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kursk reached 310 soldiers in 24 hours.
According to statistics from the Russian Ministry of Defense, since the start of the Kursk offensive, Ukraine has lost more than 45,530 servicemen, 262 tanks, 204 infantry fighting vehicles, 142 armored personnel carriers, 1,359 armored fighting vehicles, 1,237 vehicles, 337 artillery pieces, 42 multiple launch rocket systems, including 11 HIMARS and 6 MLRS, and 13 anti-aircraft missile system launchers.
One challenge for Ukraine is that the munitions that strike deepest into Russian territory are still supplied by the US, UK and France, but Washington's aid is under threat.
US President-elect Donald Trump has said his administration will "probably" reduce Washington's aid to Ukraine after he takes office on January 20.
Anticipating a sharp reduction in aid under Trump, the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden is rushing to provide billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine in its final weeks.
An aid package announced by the White House earlier this week included up to $2.5 billion worth of equipment and ammunition, including “thousands” of missiles for Ukraine’s HIMARS launchers.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/ukraine-phong-hoa-luc-du-doi-dot-nong-tran-chien-tren-lanh-tho-nga-20241231073137623.htm
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