President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to broker a peace deal in Ukraine, but as he prepares to take office, peace seems as elusive as ever

Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine had launched a counter-attack in the Kursk region, an area of western Russia from which Russian troops have been trying to eject Ukrainian forces for the past five 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."

Ukraine launched a fresh operation in Russia's southern Kursk region, Moscow said on Sunday, after Ukrainian officials and military bloggers reported new attacks from Kyiv in a region where Moscow is eager to reassert its grip.

Ukraine’s continued focus on Kursk shows how important Kyiv believes it is to hold on to Russian land, especially if Trump pushes both sides to the negotiating table.

Ukraine is leaning into its efforts to hold onto the Russian territory of Kursk amid intense pressure from Russian and North Korean forces to take it back, apparently gambling that the region

North Korean troops have been taking part in active combat on Russia's side in the country's Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine has held territory since August. This unprecedented move, made against the backdrop of a deepening Moscow-Pyongyang alliance,

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.

Estonian Defence Forces Intelligence Centre has reported that Ukraine's recent offensive in Russia's Kursk Oblast has revealed Moscow's inability to reclaim these territories. Source: Estonian public broadcaster ERR,

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Russia launched 39 Shahed drones, other simulator drones and four ballistic missiles according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Ukrainian air defense forces shot down two missiles and 24 drones. A further 14 drone simulators were lost in location, the statement said.