Ukraine Counterattacks Gain In Kursk and Donbas, Halting Russian Advances

Ukrainian forces have successfully counterattacked in Kursk and the Donbas, retaking a number of towns and villages. 

The assaults are noteworthy primarily because they reveal the weakness of the Russian military, despite reports of their 'overwhelming strength' in these sectors as well as the ability of the Ukrainians to opportunistically take advantage of Russian missteps. JL

Brendan Cole and John Feng report in Newsweek:

Kyiv's forces have seized five settlements in the Russian Kursk region and one in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast. Ukrainian troops had made advances in central Pogrebki capturing Novaya Sorochina, Orlovka, Maryevka, Storaya Sorochina and Malaya Loknya. The Ukrainians then fended off Russian attacks, forcing Moscow's troops to withdraw. In Ukraine's Donetsk region, Ukrainian forces liberated Novyi Komar.

Ukraine's forces have made some marginal gains in the Kursk oblast. They have captured settlements four months into the daring incursion they staged inside Russian territory.

Soon after its forces stormed through the lightly defended border, Ukraine claimed to have captured around 530 square miles of Russian territory within weeks. Moscow appeared slow to respond, but Kyiv said it has since sent tens of thousands of troops to the region to counterattack.

This has led to a change in fortunes for Kyiv's forces, with one Ukrainian General Staff source telling Reuters that, by the end of November, Russian troops had regained around 40 percent of that territory.

But the latest assessments of the state of the play on the front line by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) show that Kyiv's forces have seized five settlements in the Russian region and one in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast. 

A Ukrainian mechanic rests after returning from a combat mission in the Kursk oblast on August 14, 2024. As of December 10, 2024, Ukrainian forces have captured settlements in the Russian region. Kostiantyn Liberov/Getty Images

On December 7, an ISW map showed Ukrainian troops had made advances in central Pogrebki and managed to capture Novaya Sorochina and Malaya Loknya.

The Washington, D.C. think tank's update that day also said that Ukrainian forces had "likely seized" the settlements of Orlovka, Maryevka and Staraya Sorochina, which are located northwest of Sudzha, the town Ukraine captured soon after its incursion. This was the largest settlement Ukraine had taken control of to that date in the conflict.

The following day, the think tank cited a Russian military blogger's claims that Ukrainian forces in Pogrebki had fended off Russian attacks toward Novaya Sorochina and Staraya Sorochina, forcing Moscow's troops to withdraw.

 

On Monday, the ISW's map noted gains by Kyiv in Ukraine's Donetsk region as well as claims by Russian sources that Ukrainian forces had liberated Novyi Komar.

A combined force of 50,000 Russian soldiers and troops from Vladimir Putin's ally North Korea is preparing to launch a major counteroffensive in Kursk Oblast, according to The New York Times.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on November 7 that there were already casualties among North Korean troops fighting alongside Russia, amid uncertainty over what role they would play in the region.

 

On Monday, Sabrina Singh, deputy spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense, told a Pentagon briefing that North Korean troops "are still in that Kursk oblast" and ready to engage in combat at any time, although she added that Washington had not seen them directly involved.