15,000 of Putin’s troops killed in Kursk, Zelensky claims

Some 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in attempts to repel Ukraine’s advances in Kursk since August, Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed, as Kyiv ‘s Navy and drone operators dealt costly blows to Russia ‘s air defenses. ‘During the Kursk operation, the enemy has already lost 38,000 of their soldiers in this direction alone, with nearly 15,000 of these losses being irreversible,’ Zelensky said in his nightly video address, though the figures could not be independently verified. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Navy, the Defense Ministry and respected war bloggers separately claimed that five Russian air defense platforms – including two S-300 systems and two Pantsir-S1 systems collectively worth roughly £300 million – were destroyed yesterday.

Drone footage of one operation shared by the Navy purportedly showed a Ukrainian attack drone zeroing in on a Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft launcher near Kherson. Ukraine launched a mass incursion into the Kursk region last summer and has seized chunks of territory, though Russia’s military claims to have recaptured much of that. After a period of relative deadlock, Kyiv’s forces mounted a renewed offensive in the region on Sunday with the head of the Ukrainian President’s office Andriy Yermak declaring: ‘Russia is getting what it deserves’ in Kursk. Russia’s defense ministry acknowledged that Ukrainian troops had conducted an assault around the town of Berdin with several tanks – supposedly including British Challengers – a mine-clearing truck and 12 armored combat vehicles. But this morning, Moscow and Russian war blogging channels reported that the Ukrainian assault on Berdin had been foiled and the Ukrainian units there destroyed, though cited no evidence.

Ukraine’s fresh assault comes with both sides seeking to strengthen their negotiating hand ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House on January 20 – just over one month shy of the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Trump’s arrival in the Oval Office is widely expected to precipitate a push for a ceasefire, with the soon-to-be president and key members of his staff having alluded to a plan to strong-arm both sides into a peace deal. Zelensky said last year the Kursk operation had boosted Kyiv’s ‘exchange fund’ – its negotiating position on swapping prisoners of war – and diverted tens of thousands of Russian troops away from the eastern front. US officials have also confirmed the occupation of Kursk as vital ahead of possible ceasefire negotiations to ensure Ukraine has ‘the strongest possible hand to play’. Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Seoul on Monday: ‘Their position in Kursk is an important one because certainly it’s something that would factor in any negotiation that may come about in the coming year.’

But Ukraine’s offensive in Kursk has not deterred Moscow ‘s troops from grinding ever further west. Russia’s defense ministry claimed earlier this week that its forces had captured the town of Kurakhove some 20 miles south of Pokrovsk, an important Ukrainian logistics hub towards which Russia has been advancing for months. Kyiv’s renewed offensive in Kursk prompted Putin to dispatch one of his top generals to the occupied region. General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov (left) – reputed to be one of Russia’s most hardline generals and a staunch Putin ally – arrived in Kursk on Sunday, according to regional acting governor Alexander Khinshtein. A career soldier and decorated paratrooper who won the ‘Hero of Russia’ top military honour, Yevkurov is also a former governor of the region of Ingushetia.

His participation in numerous conflicts as a paratrooper coupled with the experience of negotiation and political maneuvering as a noted governor marked him out as a wily, ruthless operator. In addition to his work as deputy defense minister, Yevkurov has also coordinated closely with Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group and Russia’s GRU foreign intelligence service to oversee the Kremlin’s projects in Africa. ‘For obvious reasons, I will not go into the details of the conversation (with Yevkurov),’ Khinstein said. ‘But I can say one thing for sure: the government of the Kursk region will do everything possible to help our Armed Forces in their sacred fight.’ Meanwhile, in a Sunday interview with US podcaster and scientist Lex Fridman – who was also born in the Soviet Union – Zelensky underlined the key role Trump would play in bringing about negotiations.

Zelensky dismissed the notion of negotiating with Putin and Trump at the same time, explaining he would first sit with Trump to hatch a plan on ending the war before meeting with his Russian counterpart, whom he had earlier described as ‘deaf by his very nature’ and a ‘bare-assed mammoth’. ‘Trump and I will come to an agreement and… offer strong security guarantees, together with Europe, and then we can talk to the Russians,’ Zelensky said. ‘We and Trump come first, and Europe will support Ukraine’s position,’ he added. Trump, he said, ‘has enough power to pressure him, to pressure Putin’. The Ukrainian president also used the three-hour interview published on YouTube to call for Ukraine’s NATO membership, emphasizing his belief that a ceasefire without security guarantees for Kyiv would merely give Russia time to rearm for a new attack. ‘Without the United States, security guarantees are not possible. I mean these security guarantees that can prevent Russian aggression,’ he said, tacitly acknowledging that Kyiv’s European allies would be too weak militarily to manage on their own.

An emotional Zelensky went onto rail against Putin, dismissing the possibility of ever forgiving the Kremlin chief and refuting claims that he ‘loves Russia and his people’, based on the number of Russians who have been ordered to their deaths at conflicts at home and abroad under Putin’s reign. Zelensky added that Trump had indicated when they spoke late last year that there would be an official Ukrainian visit to the United States soon after he takes office. ‘He told me on the phone that my visit would be one of his first. This topic is important to him. I hope we will meet,’ he said. The Ukrainian leader confirmed he would attend Trump’s January 20 inauguration if he receives an official invitation. Ukraine launched its new counterattack in Kursk in the early hours of Sunday morning, using British Challenger 2 tanks to push back Russian defenders, pro-Putin Russian sources claimed.

Pro-Putin Telegram channel Rybar claimed that Russia’s 155th Guards Marine Brigade of the Pacific Fleet used a ‘regular FPV (first-person view) drone’ to destroy a Challenger 2 tank deployed as part of the offensive, but acknowledged Ukraine’s attack was powerful. Video footage shared on the channel showed grainy footage of a drone flying into a tank that appears to be hidden in a treeline. MailOnline was unable to verify whether the tank was in fact a Challenger 2, 14 of which were donated by the UK in January 2023 in a move that prompted the US and Germany to follow suit with their own tanks. Footage shared to other pro-Putin Telegram channels yesterday claimed to show German tanks getting destroyed by FPV drones, while other clips displayed columns of Ukrainian armored vehicles advancing in Kursk. MailOnline has contacted the Ministry of Defense for comment.

Kyiv seized dozens of villages in the Kursk region shortly after its offensive began in August, but its advances stalled after Moscow rushed reinforcements to the area, including thousands of North Korean troops. A day before Ukraine’s surprise attack yesterday, Zelensky had claimed: ‘Over the past two days, near Makhnovka [a village in Sudzhansky District of Kursk region], Russian forces lost a battalion composed of North Korean infantry and Russian paratroopers.’ In the new push, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the Russian army in several directions in the Kursk region, said Kyiv’s Centre for Combating Disinformation (CCD), part of the National Security Council of Ukraine. Russian pro-war ‘Z-channels’ began a scaremongering campaign that the Ukrainian aim was to capture Kursk nuclear power plant, a key strategic site.

However, this seems unlikely since it is 37 miles from current Ukrainian positions. Russian War Gonzo channel said: ‘The [Ukrainian] advance units are moving under the cover of electronic warfare installations, which complicates their destruction using attack drones, after which the main forces are pulled up in armored fighting vehicles. ‘Attempts are being made to strike not only at the forward positions of our troops, but also at the rear areas of the Kursk region using long-range missiles and drones.’ The advance came after a recent visit by Ukrainian commander-in-chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi to Kursk region inside occupied Russia ahead of the advance by his troops.

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