KIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces on Sunday launched a new offensive in the western Russian region of Kursk, following their surprise incursion into the territory last summer.

"Kursk region, good news: Russia is getting what it deserves," the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram, indirectly confirming reports by military bloggers on a new advance in Kursk.

Late on Sunday, the General Staff in Kiev said it had recorded 42 armed clashes in the region, 12 of which were still ongoing.

"The Russians in the Kursk region are very worried because they were attacked from several directions," it continued.

Neither side has provided any information about losses, successes or changes to the front line.

The main target appears to be the road to Kursk, northeast of the small town of Sudzha, which the Ukrainians were able to take during their surprise summer offensive.

In response, Moscow later mobilized 50,000 troops, including around 10,000 North Korean soldiers, for a counteroffensive that has reclaimed almost half of the occupied territory over the last months.

Armored columns on the march

Videos on Sunday purportedly from the region showed several columns of armored Ukrainian vehicles moving at high speed, with mine-clearing vehicles leading the way.

According to Russian military bloggers, Kiev was also heavily employing electronic jamming to neutralize Russian drones.

Russia confirms advance

The Russian Defense Ministry issued a statement saying that Russian artillery and the air force had attacked a Ukrainian convoy on its way to the village of Berdin.

Two tanks, a bulldozer and seven armored troop-carrying vehicles were destroyed in the attack. The fighting continues, it said.

The information could not be independently verified.

Russians recently suffered heavy losses in their own offensive

The previous evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported heavy losses of Russian units attempting to recapture the Kursk region.

"In fighting today and yesterday around the settlement of Makhnivka in the Kursk region, the Russian army has lost an infantry battalion of North Korean soldiers and Russian paratroopers," Zelensky said in his nightly video message.

A battalion of the Russian forces officially has a troop strength of up to 500 men.

In recent weeks, videos have repeatedly surfaced showing attempts by Russian units, sometimes reinforced by North Korean soldiers, to storm the Kursk region. The footage often shows destroyed Russian armored vehicles and dead soldiers.

Military experts attribute the seemingly rushed assault attempts to Moscow's desire to gain as much ground as possible before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, to secure a favorable position in anticipated negotiations.

Ukraine remains on the defensive

The situation on the battlefield remains challenging for Ukraine. Despite the reported losses, Russian troops continued to attack on Sunday.

Over the past 24 hours, they reportedly made territorial gains near Kurakhove, near the strategically important city of Pokrovsk, and also in the contested city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine.

Media reports from Kiev on Sunday said that Russia captured nearly 3,600 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in the past year, which is roughly the size of Mallorca, or Long Island in New York.

Ukraine suffered its greatest territorial losses in November, losing 610 square kilometers, the military blog Militarnyi reported, citing map data from DeepStateMAP, another military blog.

The losses in 2024 were reportedly multiple times that of the previous year.

In mid-December, the Ukrainian Telegram channel UA War Infographics estimated the Russian troop advances since the start of the year at over 2,800 square kilometers. However, Ukraine reportedly also lost an additional 510 square kilometers in December.

It is noteworthy that the territorial losses for Kiev have significantly increased following its own summer offensive and the incursions into the western Russian region of Kursk.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a full-scale Russian invasion for almost three years with the help of Western allies.

Ukrainian military to boost drone units, commander says

Separately on Sunday, commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said more Ukrainian military forces are to be reinforced with drone units, and a separate drone brigade is soon to be put into operation.

"We are finalizing the concept of a separate drone brigade and its typical structure, and we are on the home straight," Syrskyi wrote on Telegram after a meeting with commanders of Ukrainian drone units.

"I am also observing the dynamic increase in the effectiveness and survivability of our unmanned systems," Syrskyi said.

Drone units hit 54,000 Russian targets in December 2024 alone, he said, adding that so-called kamikaze drones were used in almost half of the missions.

The meeting focused on high-tech developments in air defense and electronic warfare and their application on the battlefield, as well as how to combat the latest Russian equipment models, Syrskyi said.

Ukraine has been relying heavily on drones to fight Russian forces since 2023, as they are comparatively easy and quick to produce and do not pose a risk to soldiers' lives.

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