The situation at a glance: Ukraine has been holding a piece of Russia for six months

Ukrainian troops have been defending their bridgehead on opposing territory in the Russian area of ​​Kursk for six months. The surprising advance of August 6, 2024 could not be assessed highly enough, explained the Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj.

“At some point, when the war is heading for a diplomatic solution, you will see how important this operation was,” he wrote in the social network X. “Russia will not drive us out of Kursk in the near future.” The Russian counter -offensive with 60,000 soldiers is stuck, he said.

After the Ukraine had to accept many military setbacks in 2024, the unexpected advance in the Russian area of ​​its army had again given room for maneuvers. According to military experts, the Ukrainians conquered more than 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory. Moscow counterattacks later let the area shrink to half again. However, Russian troops are currently hardly progressing due to the cleverly elected defense positions of the Ukrainians.

Politically, the line -up means that Kiev has a fist pan for possible conversations about an end to the fights with Russia. According to Moscow media, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin wants to avoid as much as possible that its own Russian territory becomes the subject of negotiations.

Where are the North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region?

Selenskyj recalled that his troops in the Kursk area also had to fight against the North Koreans called by Russia. “Her North Korean mercenaries have already fled,” he wrote on X. In fact, the soldiers from the isolated communist country have not been observed on the front since mid -January.

However, the Ukrainian armed forces do not assume that the North Koreans were ordered back to their homeland. “I believe that they will appear again on the front. They will have adapted,” said officer Anton Sachartschuk from the 95th Air Fund Brigade the newspapers of the Funke Media Group. His team had fought against North Korean units in the northeast of the Kursk front from December. The North Koreans were used as storm troops, said Sachartschuk. He suspects that they are now being grouped behind the front.

Less fights on the Ukrainian Eastern Front

On the front in eastern Ukraine, the Russian troops are currently progressing more slowly after months of violent battles and incessant advances. “The Russian rocket terror continues, but their ground troops are getting weaker,” said Selenskyj.

The Ukrainian military blog “Deepstate” pointed out that the reported number of Russian storm attacks had recently dropped sharply. In December, the Ukrainian General Staff had recorded up to 292 attacks a day. The number was already declining in January. 80 battles were reported on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, military observers disagreed whether this means an operational break or whether the Russian offensive, which has been uninterrupted since autumn 2022, ran down due to high losses.

In the night of Thursday, Russia attacked the city of Charkiw several times in eastern Ukraine. In a drone attack on Wednesday evening, falling debris set fire to numerous stalls on a market.

Selenskyj: need common guarantees of the USA and Europe

In Kiev as in Moscow, the announced diplomatic initiative of US President Donald Trump continues. This wants to reach an end to the war that has been raging for almost three years, the way there is unclear. Selenskyj reported other contacts with the Americans.

He again made it clear that Ukraine needed sustainable security guarantees to Russia to end the fights. The United States, the EU countries and Great Britain should be involved. “Whether this is a troop contingent, weapons, naval presence, soldiers or anti -aircraft systems – it must be a common effort between the USA and Europe,” he wrote to X. and he came to the conclusion: “To be honest, a NATO membership Would be cheaper for everyone. “

So far, leading NATO countries such as the USA and Germany have not been available to an invitation to Ukraine. Moscow strictly rejects a belonging to Ukraine to the western alliance as well as NATO troops in the Ukrainian area.

Criminal measures against the shadow fleet shipper

With sanctions against captains, Ukraine strengthens the pressure on the so -called shadow fleet of Russia. Selenskyj signed a decree in Kiev with punitive measures against more than 50 Russian skipper and a captain from Iran.

The tankers they run are counted towards the shadow fleet with which Moscow brings oil to the world market, bypassing sanctions. Most of the ships mentioned in the decree already stand on sanction lists, reported the Interfax Ukraina news agency. In the case of captains, not only possible assets in Ukraine should be confiscated. They are forbidden to run Ukraine with their ships or to enter the country.