Russia and Ukraine traded attacks in the Kursk region this week as Moscow looks to continue clawing back its territory. Meanwhile, Russian forces appear to have taken the eastern city of Kurakhove but failed to encircle the Ukrainian forces there.

"The situation in Kurakhove is really quite difficult right now, because a significant part of the city has been destroyed," Khortytsia group of forces spokesperson Viktor Trehubov said on national television Jan.