The Ukrainian military said last night that it holds 500 square kilometers of the Kursk border region in Russia, two-thirds less than the 1.400 square kilometers it captured in a lightning offensive in August.
The Ukrainian army, smaller and less well-equipped than the Russian one, is gradually losing the territory it occupies in this region of western Russia that borders Ukraine, but which Kiev intends to use to negotiate with Moscow.
"We have our own security zone on the territory of Russia, which extends over about 500 square kilometers," Ukrainian Chief of the General Staff Oleksandr Syrsky posted on Facebook.
He added that this "security zone" has been consolidated thanks to recent attacks by Ukrainian forces, which "forced the Russians to transfer their most effective units from other sectors."
In the Ukrainian region of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, the focus of the fighting and a priority for the Kremlin, the Russian army has nevertheless continued to advance slowly but surely since August, despite heavy losses.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently mentioned a possible "exchange" of territory between Kiev and Moscow, which holds about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory. The Kremlin has firmly rejected the proposal.
The Ukrainian military reported in November that it controls 800 square kilometers in the Kursk region, where fighting is still ongoing.
According to Ukrainian authorities and their allies, the Russian military brought in North Korean soldiers to help push Ukrainians out of the area, but they suffered heavy losses and many were captured.
Rubio believes that the agreement with Ukraine on the delivery of ore will return some of the US aid
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope yesterday that the US would reach an agreement with Ukraine to deliver rare earth minerals, which would partially compensate for US financial assistance to Ukraine during the war that Russia is waging against it.
"Some of that money will go to repay billions of American taxpayer dollars spent in that country," Rubio said in a radio interview the day after Donald Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Rubio added that another portion of the money would be for rebuilding war-torn Ukraine.
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The US administration announced on Wednesday that Ukraine should cede part of its territory to Russia, and Rubio said the US has a "long-term interest in the independence" of the country.
"I hope we will have news about that soon: the possibility of establishing a partnership with Ukraine, a joint venture, or something like that, for its mineral rights, all the natural resources that it has," he said.
Trump, who has criticized US aid to Ukraine since Russia attacked it, recently said he wants an agreement on access to Ukrainian mineral resources as a condition for continued US support.
Ukraine has large reserves of lithium and titanium, essential for advanced technologies, including aerospace and electric vehicles.
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