On Aug.6, a powerful Ukrainian force invaded Kursk Oblast in western Russia and captured what is now a 250-square-mile salient anchored by the town of Sudzha. On Nov. 7, an equally powerful Russian force counterattacked—aiming to drive toward Sudzha along the main road threading from Zelenyi Shylakh on the western edge of the salient.

Kyiv's forces struck an advanced Russian air-defense system in the border Kursk region, according to Ukraine's military, shortly after the U.S. green-lit attacks over the border using long-range American weapons and as North Korean soldiers are expected to join front-line clashes in the area.

Ukraine has lost over 40 percent of the territory it previously gained in Russia's Kursk Oblast due to Russian counterattacks, Reuters reported on Nov. 23, citing a source in Ukraine's General Staff.

Ukraine has lost more than 40 per cent of the territory in Russia’s Kursk region that it seized in August, a senior Ukrainian military source said.

"Russia's own troops are not enough" to push Ukraine out of the Russian border region, Kyiv's top commander has said.

Recent reports indicate that Russian forces are making significant and relentless gains in the Kursk region, with Ukrainian troops retreating under heavy assault. Despite Ukraine's efforts to slow Russia's advances with an incursion in August,