Russia regains 63 percent of Kursk region as Ukraine desperately tries to counterattack

The Russian military regained control of 63.2 percent (801 square kilometers) of the territory of Kursk Oblast (1,268 square kilometers) that the Armed Forces of Ukraine initially occupied, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

In two weeks of January, the Russian army has regained control of the settlements of Alexandria, Leonidovo, Russkoye Porechnoye and Kruglenkoye in Kursk Oblast, the department also said.

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have decided to transfer reserve units to the Kursk region, a commander of the armoured group of the Akhmat unit of special forces said.

According to the commander, the enemy wants to use reserve units to launch a counterattack. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are currently using all available forces and reserves in the border region.

"All infantry fighting vehicles (…) are of foreign manufacture," the commander said.

However, despite the transfer of reserve units, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are suffering a defeat near Kursk. On January 5, it became known that Ukrainian troops attempted to counterattack in the region. The enemy did not achieve its goal and was defeated, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

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Kursk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Kursk. As of the 2021 census, Kursk Oblast had a population of 1,082,458. During World War II, the territory of Kursk Oblast was occupied by German troops from the autumn of 1941 until the summer of 1943. The Battle of Kursk, which was one of the major battles of World War II, took place in the region between 5 July 1943 and 23 August 1943. The territory of Kursk Oblast was the region in which the 4th leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, was born. As of 2024, the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline in Sudzha was the last remaining point through which natural gas flowed from Russia to Europe via Ukraine. In August 2024, Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Kursk Oblast during the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine resulting in a small part of the oblast becoming under Ukrainian occupation. Kursk Oblast is bordered by Bryansk Oblast to the north-west (border length: 120 km (75 mi)), Oryol Oblast to the north (325 km (202 mi)), Lipetsk Oblast to the north-east (65 km (40 mi)), Voronezh Oblast to the east (145 km (90 mi)), Belgorod Oblast to the south (335 km (208 mi)), and Sumy Oblast of Ukraine to the west (245 km (152 mi)).