Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia

Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia
A medic treats an injured Ukrainian serviceman on Pokrovsk direction in Ukraine on Dec. 23, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 28 December 2024
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Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia

Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia
  • Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders cannot evacuate the dead
  • Communication lags and poorly timed tactics have cost lives, and troops have little way to counterattack

KYIV: Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk, a region some want to hold at all costs while others question the value of having gone in at all.
Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders can’t evacuate the dead. Communication lags and poorly timed tactics have cost lives, and troops have little way to counterattack, seven front-line soldiers and commanders told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so they could discuss sensitive operations.
Since being caught unaware by the lightning Ukrainian incursion, Russia has amassed more than 50,000 troops in the region, including some from its ally North Korea. Precise numbers are hard to obtain, but Moscow’s counterattack has killed and wounded thousands and the overstretched Ukrainians have lost more than 40 percent of the 984 square kilometers (380 square miles) of Kursk they seized in August.
Its full-scale invasion three years ago left Russia holding a fifth of Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hinted that he hopes controlling Kursk will help force Moscow to negotiate an end to the war. But five Ukrainian and Western officials in Kyiv who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss sensitive military matters said they fear gambling on Kursk will weaken the whole 1000-kilometer front line, and Ukraine is losing precious ground in the east.
“We have, as they say, hit a hornet’s nest. We have stirred up another hot spot,” said Stepan Lutsiv, a major in the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade.
The border raid that became an occupation
Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has said that Ukraine launched the operation because officials thought Russia was about to launch a new attack on northeast Ukraine.
It began on Aug. 5 with an order to leave Ukraine’s Sumy region for what they thought would be a nine-day raid to stun the enemy. It became an occupation that Ukrainians welcomed as their smaller country gained leverage and embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Gathering his men, one company commander told them: “We’re making history; the whole world will know about us because this hasn’t been done since World War II.
Privately, he was less certain.
“It seemed crazy,” he said. “I didn’t understand why.”
Shocked by success achieved largely because the Russians were caught by surprise, the Ukrainians were ordered to advance beyond the original mission to the town of Korenevo, 25 kilometers into Russia. That was one of the first places where Russian troops counterattacked.
By early November the Russians began regaining territory rapidly. Once in awe of what they accomplished, troops’ opinions are shifting as they come to terms with losses. The company commander said half of his troops are dead or wounded.
Some front-line commanders said conditions are tough, morale is low and troops are questioning command decisions, even the very purpose of occupying Kursk.
Another commander said that some orders his men have received don’t reflect reality because of delays in communication. Delays occur especially when territory is lost to Russian troops, he said.
“They don’t understand where our side is, where the enemy is, what’s under our control, and what isn’t,” he said. “They don’t understand the operational situation, we so act at our own discretion.”
One platoon commander said higher ups have repeatedly turned down his requests to change his unit’s defensive position because he knows his men can’t hold the line.
“Those people who stand until the end are ending up MIA,” he said. He said he also knows of at least 20 Ukrainian soldiers whose bodies had been abandoned over the last four months because the battles were too intense to evacuate them without more casualties.
No option to retreat as Russia doubles down
Ukrainian soldiers said they were not prepared for the aggressive Russian response in Kursk, and cannot counterattack or pull back.
“There’s no other option. We’ll fight here because if we just pull back to our borders, they won’t stop; they’ll keep advancing,” said one drone unit commander.
The AP requested comment from Ukraine’s General Staff but did not receive a response before publication.
American longer-range weapons have slowed the Russian advance and North Korean soldiers who joined the fighting last month are easy targets for drones and artillery because they lack combat discipline and often move in large groups in the open, Ukrainian troops said.
On Monday, Zelensky said 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed and wounded. But they appear to be learning from their mistakes, soldiers added, by becoming more adept at camouflaging near forested lines.
One clash took place last week near Vorontsovo tract, a forested area between the settlements of Kremenne and Vorontsovo.
Until last week, the area was under Ukraine’s control. This week part of it has been lost to Russian forces and Ukrainian troops fear they will reach a crucial logistics route.
Eyeing frontline losses in the eastern region known as the Donbas — where Russia is closing on a crucial supply hub — some soldiers are more vocal about whether Kursk has been worth it.
“All the military can think about now is that Donbas has simply been sold,” the platoon commander said. “At what price?”


Israeli PM says Trump has invited him to the White House on Feb. 4

Israeli PM says Trump has invited him to the White House on Feb. 4
Updated 20 sec ago
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Israeli PM says Trump has invited him to the White House on Feb. 4

Israeli PM says Trump has invited him to the White House on Feb. 4
  • This would make Benjamin Netanyahu the first foreign leader to visit the White House in Trump’s second term
  • Meeting would be chance for Netanyahu to remind world of US support, defend Israel’s conduct of Gaza war

WADI GAZA: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that President Donald Trump has invited him to visit the White House on Feb. 4, which would make him the first foreign leader to do so in Trump’s second term.
The announcement came as the United States pressures Israel and Hamas to continue a ceasefire that has paused a devastating 15-month war in Gaza. Talks about the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, which aims to end the war, are set to begin on Feb. 3.
There was no immediate comment from the White House. Trump teased the upcoming visit in a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday, but didn’t provide details. “I’m going to be speaking with Bibi Netanyahu in the not too distant future,” he said.
The meeting would be a chance for Netanyahu, under pressure at home, to remind the world of the support he has received from Trump over the years, and to defend Israel’s conduct of the war. Last year, the two men met face-to-face for the first time in nearly four years at Trump’s Florida Mar-a-Lago estate.
Israel is the largest recipient of US military aid, and Netanyahu is likely to encourage Trump not to hold up some weapons deliveries the way the Biden administration did, though it continued other deliveries and overall military support.
Even before taking office this month, Trump was sending his special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the region to apply pressure along with the Biden administration to get the current Gaza ceasefire achieved.
But Netanyahu has vowed to renew the war if Hamas doesn’t meet his demands in negotiations over the ceasefire’s second phase of the ceasefire, meant to discuss a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a “sustainable calm.”
Under the deal, more than 375,000 Palestinians have crossed into northern Gaza since Israel allowed their return on Monday morning, the United Nations said Tuesday. That represents over a third of the million people who fled in the war’s opening days.
Many of the Palestinians trudging along a seaside road or crossing in vehicles after security inspections were getting their first view of shattered northern Gaza under the fragile ceasefire, now in its second week.
They were determined, if homes were damaged or destroyed, to pitch makeshift shelters or sleep outdoors amid the vast piles of broken concrete or perilously leaning buildings. After months of crowding in squalid tent camps or former schools in Gaza’s south, they would finally be home.
“It’s still better for us to be on our land than to live on a land that’s not yours,” said Fayza Al-Nahal as she prepared to leave the southern city of Khan Younis for the north.
At least two Palestinians set off for the north by sea, crowding into a rowboat with a bicycle and other belongings.
Hani Al-Shanti, displaced from Gaza City, looked forward to feeling at peace in whatever he found, “even if it is a roof and walls without furniture, even if it is without a roof.” One newly returned woman hung laundry in the ruins of her home, its walls blown out.
Under the ceasefire, the next release of hostages held in Gaza, and Palestinian prisoners from Israeli custody, is set to occur on Thursday, followed by another exchange on Saturday.


15 dead in India after stampede at Hindu mega-festival

15 dead in India after stampede at Hindu mega-festival
Updated 29 January 2025
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15 dead in India after stampede at Hindu mega-festival

15 dead in India after stampede at Hindu mega-festival
  • The six-week festival is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar, and millions of people were expected to be present on Wednesday for a sacred day of ritual bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers

PRAYAGRAJ, India: A stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering in India killed at least 15 people with many more injured, a doctor at the Kumbh Mela festival in Prayagraj told AFP Wednesday.
“At least 15 people have died for now. Others are being treated,” said the doctor in Prayagraj city, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to media.
An AFP photographer saw rescuers and worshippers evacuating victims from the scene and people climbing over a barrier.
Deadly crowd crushes are a notorious feature of Indian religious festivals, and the Kumbh Mela, with its unfathomable throngs of devotees, already had a grim track record of deadly crowd crushes before the latest incident overnight.
Local government official Akanksha Rana told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency that the stampede began after crowd control barriers “broke.”
The six-week festival is the single biggest milestone on the Hindu religious calendar, and millions of people were expected to be present on Wednesday for a sacred day of ritual bathing at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.


Algeria blasts European Parliament for condemning a French-Algerian author’s arrest

Algeria blasts European Parliament for condemning a French-Algerian author’s arrest
Updated 29 January 2025
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Algeria blasts European Parliament for condemning a French-Algerian author’s arrest

Algeria blasts European Parliament for condemning a French-Algerian author’s arrest
  • The 76-year-old is among several imprisoned writers mentioned in the European Parliament’s resolution last week, which also references journalist Abdelwakil Blamm and poet Mohamed Tadjadit

ALGIERS, Algeria: Algerian lawmakers condemned the European Parliament for a resolution criticizing the arrest of French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal.
Lawmakers from both chambers of the North African nation’s parliament on Monday signed a statement rebuking the European Parliament’s resolution for “misleading allegations with the sole aim of launching a blatant attack against Algeria.”
Since his Nov. 16 arrest, Sansal’s cause has been taken up by European writers, artists and politicians, particularly those on the French right sympathetic to his criticism of Islam.
Sansal has been charged with violating an anti-terrorism statute that rights groups say Algeria uses to target activists and dissidents and quiet criticism of the government. The 76-year-old is among several imprisoned writers mentioned in the European Parliament’s resolution last week, which also references journalist Abdelwakil Blamm and poet Mohamed Tadjadit.
Algerian lawmakers accused the European Parliament of political inference and cast doubt on whether their motivations had to do with Sansal’s well-being or “harming the image of Algeria.”
The back-and-forth mirrors similar spats between Europe and nations that were once colonized by some members of the 27-nation bloc and see such criticism as paternalistic. In 2023, Moroccan lawmakers blasted the European Parliament for passing a resolution that implored Morocco to respect press freedoms and grant fair trials to three imprisoned journalists.
The clash over the resolution is the latest rupture between Algeria and France. The countries have for nearly a year sparred over immigration and repatriation issues, the disputed Western Sahara and the legacy of French nuclear testing in Algeria’s Sahara Desert, which lawmakers passed a resolution addressing last week.

 


Sarkozy’s son signs up for French far-right magazine

Son of former French president Louis Sarkozy arrives to attend the French L1 football match in Paris. (AFP file photo)
Son of former French president Louis Sarkozy arrives to attend the French L1 football match in Paris. (AFP file photo)
Updated 29 January 2025
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Sarkozy’s son signs up for French far-right magazine

Son of former French president Louis Sarkozy arrives to attend the French L1 football match in Paris. (AFP file photo)
  • Louis Sarkozy, born to Sarkozy’s second wife Cecilia Attias, spent most of his childhood in the United States but has appeared on French television recently as a commentator on American politics
  • Valeurs Actuelles, which is hoping to shed its association with the far-right, backed virulently anti-Islam politician Eric Zemmour in France’s 2022 presidential election and regularly focuses on immigration and crime

PARIS: The third son of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been unveiled as a surprise columnist for far-right news magazine Valeurs Actuelles, reinforcing speculation about his possible political ambitions.
The first contribution from Louis Sarkozy, 27, is set to appear in a relaunched edition of the magazine on Wednesday and will be devoted to “the values of the right.”
“He’s ebullient, cultured, creative: it’s the perfect combination for a column at the end of the magazine,” director Tugdual Denis told AFP.
Valeurs Actuelles, which is hoping to shed its association with the far-right, backed virulently anti-Islam politician Eric Zemmour in France’s 2022 presidential election and regularly focuses on immigration and crime.
Louis Sarkozy, born to Sarkozy’s second wife Cecilia Attias, spent most of his childhood in the United States but has appeared on French television recently as a commentator on American politics.
He raised eyebrows with a speech last month at a meeting in Paris of the youth wing of his father’s Republicans party — and was invited to Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president in Washington last week.
Nicolas Sarkozy, who is now married to former supermodel Carla Bruni, remains mired in legal problems since his single 2007-2012 term in office.
Already convicted in two cases, he is currently on trial over allegations he and his entourage conspired with late Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi to receive millions of euros in illegal campaign financing.
Sarkozy’s eldest son Pierre has become a DJ and hip hop producer, while his second son Jean briefly entered politics before becoming embroiled in a favoritism scandal.
Asked about Louis’s growing presence in the media, Sarkozy told the CNews channel last month that he was “proud of him and his courage.”
 

 


Ukraine drone attacks target Russian power, oil facilities, officials and media say

Ukraine drone attacks target Russian power, oil facilities, officials and media say
Updated 29 January 2025
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Ukraine drone attacks target Russian power, oil facilities, officials and media say

Ukraine drone attacks target Russian power, oil facilities, officials and media say

Ukraine launched waves of drone attacks targeting oil and power facilities in western parts of Russia overnight, officials and media outlets reported on Wednesday.
Debris from a destroyed drone sparked a fire at an industrial facility in Kstovo, in Nizhny Novgorod, governor of the region that lies east of Moscow said on the Telegram messaging app.
“According to preliminary data, there are no casualties,” Gleb Nikitin, the governor, said.
He did not disclose further detail. Baza, a Russian Telegram news channel, which is close to Russia’s security services, reported that an oil refinery in Kstovo was on fire.
In the western Russia region of Smolensk, which borders Belarus, air defense systems destroyed a drone attempting to attack a nuclear power facility, Governor Vasily Anokhin said. He added that parts of the region were under a “massive” drone attack.
“According to preliminary information, one of the drones was shot down during an attempt to attack a nuclear power facility,” Anokhin said on the Telegram messaging app. “There were no casualties or damage.”
Another 26 drones were downed over the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, and 20 drones over the Tver region that borders the Moscow region to its south, regional governors said. There were no damage or casualties, they said.
Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said on Telegram that in order to ensure safety it was halting all flights at the Kazan airport. Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, lies some 830 km (516 miles) east of Moscow.
The full scale of attacks was not immediately known. Reuters could not independently verify the reports and there was no comment from Ukraine.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in their attacks in
the war
that Russia started with a full-scale invasion in February 2022. Kyiv says that its attacks inside Russia aim to destroy infrastructure key to Moscow’s war efforts.