Russia claws back villages in Kursk region from Ukrainian control

Moscow [Russia], March 11: The Russian armed forces say they have recaptured three more villages occupied by Ukrainian troops in the Kursk border region.
The villages of Kositsa, Malaya Loknya and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye are back in Russian hands, a statement from the Ministry of Defence in Moscow said on Monday, adding that three Ukrainian counter-attacks were also repelled.
The Ukrainian army surprised Russia by occupying a slither of Russian land in the Kursk region in August last year in an attempt to distract Moscow from its invasion of Ukraine, which has now entered a third year.
Military observers believe the Ukrainian gains will all soon be lost. Russian troops had stepped up attacks in the region at the end of last week and made gains. The logistics of the remaining Ukrainian units have been severely disrupted by constant Russian shelling and drone attacks.
Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on Monday refuted reports suggesting his troops are in danger of being encircled in the Kursk region, writing on Facebook that the Ukrainian army was controlling access to the bridgehead. While Syrskyi emphasized that the the Russian army and its North Korean mercenaries had suffered heavy losses in battles near the border, he also seemed not to rule out a forced withdrawal of the Ukrainians.
He said, "The units are taking timely measures to manoeuvre into favourable defensive positions." According to independent Ukrainian experts, less than 300 of the original 1,200 square kilometres seized inside Russia are still under Kiev's control.
But Ukraine continues to hit targets in Russia from the air.
Drones targeted a Russian oil refinery in the city of Novokuybyshevsk overnight into Monday, Ukrainian authorities said.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the anti-disinformation centre in Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, wrote on Telegram that the refinery is of strategic importance to the Russian military as it helps ensure a stable fuel supply for forces.
Russian Telegram channels reported explosions and a fire at the refinery. Russia's state news agency TASS said only that a warehouse in the city had caught fire. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, governor of Russia's Samara region, wrote on the Russian social network VK that the attack in Novokuybyshevsk was unsuccessful and that there were no damage.According to Russia's Defence Ministry, nine Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russian territory overnight, including three over the Samara region. (DPA)
Source: Qatar Tribune