Ukraine rushes to reinforce east as pressure mounts in south and Russia's Kursk
World
Ukraine rushes to reinforce east as pressure mounts in south and Russia's Kursk
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Monday its hard-pressed military was battling 50,000 troops in Russia's Kursk region to its north, while also scrambling to reinforce two besieged fronts in the east and bracing to meet an infantry assault in the south.
The escalating fighting along a more than 1,000-km front line is stretching Ukraine's already outnumbered troops at a critical moment after Donald Trump won the US election, raising the prospect of possible talks with Russia.
Russia occupies a fifth of Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin has said he wants Kyiv to drop ambitions to join the NATO military alliance and retreat from four Ukrainian regions that he partially holds, something Kyiv says is tantamount to capitulation.
Ukraine's armed forces commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi said he travelled to the front in Russia's Kursk region where a surprise Ukrainian incursion carved out a chunk of land in August that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said could be used as a bargaining chip.
"(Russian forces) are trying to dislodge our troops and advance deep into the territory we control," he said on Telegram.
Some US military analysts have questioned the rationale of the Kursk operation, which extended an already long front line, creating more strain for Kyiv.
Ukraine says Russia has deployed 11,000 North Korean troops to the Kursk region and that they have already been involved in clashes, urging the West to respond robustly.
The Kremlin on Monday denied reports by Reuters and others that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in recent days.
RUSSIAN PRESSURE
The Ukrainian governor of Donetsk region said a dam at the Kurakhove reservoir had been damaged creating a threat to villagers living near the Vovcha river. He blamed Russian shelling.
Zelenskiy said that Ukraine would strengthen positions on the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts where Moscow has directed its offensive pressure for months.
Russia has been closing in on Pokrovsk, a strategic road and rail hub that has a coal mine. The small industrial town of Kurakhove is home to a major coal-powered thermal power plant.
