Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow suffers deadliest day as Kursk counter-offensive falters
Published 12 November 2024
Russia lost a record number of soldiers in one day on Monday, Ukrainian intelligence said after its forces appeared to repel an initial phase of Moscow’s counteroffensive in the Kursk region.
Some 1,950 Russian troops were killed or injured on Monday, the Ukrainian army said, after footage showed Russian armoured vehicles being destroyed as they launched their offensive.
Armoured personnel carriers loaded with infantry were destroyed in “less than an hour of combat” after driving into a concealed minefield during a rare daylight charge, the Kyiv Post reported.
Footage showed columns of armoured vehicles, each carrying around 30 men, driving one after another onto mines before blowing up.
Ukraine had been losing ground in Kursk after Russia launched a previous attempt to regain their land, though Kyiv’s forces have been able to hold onto their gains in recent weeks.
It comes after Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had sent 50,000 troops to the Kursk region, up from 11,000 when Kyiv launched its daring counter-offensive in August. North Korean troops are also being deployed in Kursk as part of Moscow’s counter-offensive.
It comes after The Telegraph reported that Putin is aiming to recapture Kursk from Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office as US president in January.
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Moldova protests to Russian envoy over ‘election meddling’
Moldova handed Russia’s ambassador to Chisinau a protest note on Tuesday over alleged interference by Moscow in its recent elections.
Russia sought to delegitimise its presidential election and referendum on joining the European Union, the Moldovan foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Moscow has denied the allegations.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented today to the Ambassador ... a note of protest in connection with the illegal and deliberate interference of the Russian Federation in the electoral process of the Republic of Moldova,” Moldova’s foreign ministry said.
Russian ambassador Oleg Ozerov responded: “The conversation made it possible to clarify issues related to our acute and complex bilateral relations.”
Ukraine: Situation in Kursk difficult but under control
Anastasiia Blyshchyk, a spokesman for the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade of Ukraine, said the situation on the frontline in Kursk was difficult but “under control”.
Ms Blyshchyk said Monday was a “dark day for Russian occupation forces” as Ukrainian forces had destroyed 10 of their armoured vehicles.
A battalion deployed to launch waves of attacks in Kursk was “effectively neutralises,” Ms Blyshchyk added.