Ukraine hits Russia's infantry brigade command post in Kursk Oblast, military claims In historic record, Ukrainian F-16 pilot downs 6 cruise missiles in single mission, Air Force claims Trump blames Biden for provoking Russia's war by supporting Ukraine's NATO aspirations Ukraine says it holds Kurakhove's western outskirts despite Russia's claim of capture Ukrainian soldiers struck on Jan.

Russia said on Monday its forces had made important gains in eastern Ukraine while continuing to fend off a new Ukrainian offensive inside the Kursk region of western Russia, where a second day of fierce fighting was under way.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that some 38,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded fighting in Russia's western Kursk region since August, with Kyiv now launching a fresh offensive in the border region.

Russian troops executed three Ukrainian prisoners of war near the eastern front line on Jan. 3, the Ukrainian parliament’s commissioner for human rights Dmitro Lubinets announced, citing the war monitoring project DeepState.

As of the evening of January 7, 159 combat engagements occurred in the frontline. Russian forces are actively attacking in the Pokrovsk direction and in the Kursk region, reports the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Russia claims to have captured a key stronghold in Ukraine as Donald Trump's looming inauguration triggers escalation in the region.