January 6th, 2025: Ukraine Launches Massive Counterattack in Kursk & Undersea Sabotage Off Taiwan
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What is the surprise Ukrainian offensive in Kursk?
It's Monday, 6th January. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. Today, we start with reports of another surprise Ukrainian offensive in Russia's Kursk region. It's a bold move following months of pressure from Russian and North Korean forces. I'll bring you the details. Later in the show, more undersea sabotage. I mean, this is becoming quite the thing. A telecommunications cable off Taiwan's coast was damaged just days after Russia faced accusations of similar sabotage in the Baltic Sea. Plus, an update from Haiti, where international forces are working to maintain order as gangs launch attacks on the nation's already struggling healthcare sector.
And in today's back of the brief. All right. First of all, no need to panic. But hospitals in China are overwhelmed with patients suffering from a respiratory illness, sparking fears of another potential epidemic. And if the Chinese regime treats this problem the way that they did covid. Well, they'll try to keep it under wraps, they'll downplay the problem, avoid transparency, of course, and blame the rest of the world. But I guess that just makes me cynical. But first, today's spotlight. Ukrainian forces have launched a surprise counteroffensive in Russia's Kursk region, catching Moscow off guard. The operation began at approximately 9 a.m. Moscow time on Sunday, which is 1 a.m. on the east coast of the United States. The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged the attack, stating, "...the operation to destroy the Ukrainian army formations continues." Russian military bloggers, often quick to share frontline developments, confirmed the scale of the offensive.
Popular blogger Rybar reported that Ukraine deployed several formations into Kursk, gathered from the neighboring Ukrainian region of Sumy. This indicates that Kyiv has been preparing for this operation for some time, despite facing challenges elsewhere. Ukrainian officials have celebrated the offensive. The head of the Ukrainian presidential office shared a brief but pointed message on Telegram stating a Kursk region. Good news. Russia is getting what it deserves. Meanwhile, Andrei Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, described the operation as targeting Russian forces in multiple directions, causing what he called, quote, great distress in Moscow. However, Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces, President Zelensky, and the Ministry of Defense have remained silent about this operation so far, leaving analysts to speculate about the broader strategy. At least one prominent Kremlin propagandist is mocking Ukraine's counteroffensive in the Kursk region. Well, that's what Kremlin propagandists do.
They're calling it a PR stunt designed to impress Donald Trump. Sergei Markov, the former Kremlin speechwriter, said that Ukraine had only launched a counteroffensive in the Kursk region to show the incoming U.S. president that it could still take the fight to Russia. However, despite what their propagandists are saying, the Kremlin itself is clearly taking the offensive seriously. Reports suggest that Putin has dispatched one of his top generals, Yunus Yevgorov, to bolster defenses in the region. Yevgurov, a trusted figure who was promoted by Putin in late 2024, arrived in Kursk just hours after Ukrainian tanks began advancing. This swift response suggests that Moscow is seriously concerned about the threat posed by this operation.
North Korean troops have reportedly joined Russia's efforts to defend against the counterattack. Prior to the launch of this latest attack, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy revealed during his weekly address that hundreds of the estimated 10,000 North Korean troops deployed to the region have already been killed. As we've reported here on the PDB, Ukraine launched its first incursion into the region in August of last year, seizing territory before being pushed back by Russian advances. Still, Russian forces have failed to eject Ukraine entirely, and now Kyiv is striking again. For now, Ukraine faces significant hurdles.
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