Russian forces continue to make costly but consistent gains in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. They are steadily grinding down a pocket of resistance around the town of Kurakhove and are also fighting to envelop the larger nearby city of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian soldiers and officials said.

Ukraine launched a new offensive in Russia's Kursk region Sunday, Moscow and Kyiv said. Ukrainian forces had captured about 500 square miles of the western Russian province in a surprise incursion in August, but Russian and North Korean troops are believed to have retaken 40-50% of that area.

Russia said Sunday that Ukraine had launched a "counterattack" in the western border region of Kursk, where Kyiv's forces began a shock ground offensive last August.

Ukraine appeared to launch a fresh offensive Sunday in Russia’s border region of Kursk, where Kyiv’s forces have held territory for several months.

In a short post on Telegram, Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said: "Kursk, good news, Russia is getting what it deserves."

Russia said Sunday that Ukraine has launched a new counterattack in the western Kursk region aimed at repelling Russian and North Korean troops trying to retake territory that Kyiv’s forces captured last August.

Zelensky urges continued unity, support for Ukraine at Ramstein Kyiv, Washington in talks on licensing air defense production in Ukraine, Zelensky says Biden administration unveils its last $500 million aid package for Ukraine before Trump takes office Ukraine offers defense industry jobs,

Ukraine’s ambitious plan to reclaim Kurakhove from Russian control has been decisively thwarted. Despite determined efforts, the Ukrainian army's attempts to retake the region were crushed by Russia’s overwhelming force.

The war in Ukraine's Kursk region has reached a critical point. In his latest address, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed staggering numbers: nearly 15,000 irreversible Russian casualties and 38,000 total losses in just five months.