Ukraine has launched a counter-attack in Russia’s Kursk region, the Russian defence ministry says. As officials in Ukraine also suggested an operation was under way, Moscow said it had met the attack with artillery and air power. Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region in August, seizing a chunk of territory. Russian forces have pushed them back in some areas without managing to eject them entirely. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that security guarantees leading to an end to the war would only be effective if the US under Donald Trump provided them. During a podcast interview with Lex Fridman, Zelensky praised the incoming US president’s influence and suggested Trump had the leverage to at least halt Russia’s ongoing invasion. Trump pledged during his election campaign to quickly end the war, without giving details. Zelensky said “Trump and I will come to an agreement and… offer strong security guarantees, together with Europe, and then we can talk to the Russians”. Ukraine’s top counter-disinformation official Andriy Kovalenko said in a Telegram post on Sunday: “The Russians in Kursk are experiencing great anxiety because they were attacked from several directions and it came as a surprise to them.” Ukraine’s forces are reportedly suffering from manpower shortages and have been losing ground in the east of Ukraine in recent months, as Russian troops advance. It comes as the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched another drone attack on Ukraine overnight.
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