Ukrainian troops ordered to hold Kursk territory until Trump takes office — BBC News

Ukrainian troops occupying part of Russia’s Kursk region have been ordered “to hold the maximum territory until Trump’s inauguration and the start of negotiations,” soldiers in the field told BBC News. “In order to exchange it for something later. No one knows what,” one soldier told the British news outlet.

Soldiers told the BBC that Western allies’ recent decision to allow Kyiv to fire Western-supplied longer-range missiles at targets inside Russia “doesn’t seem to have done much to lift spirits.” The BBC’s sources in Kursk also said they’ve yet to encounter any North Korean soldiers, despite Kyiv’s claims that as many as 10,000 North Korean troops have been sent to reinforce Russia’s counteroffensive in Kursk. 

Volodymyr Zelensky said last month that Vladimir Putin hopes to drive out Ukrainian occupation forces by January 20 “to demonstrate that he has the situation under control.” Ukraine launched its surprise incursion into Kursk in August 2024, capturing nearly 1,400 square kilometers (540 square miles) at the offensive’s peak. Russia has since retaken an estimated 40 percent of this territory.