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.

Ukraine has largely been driven out of Kurakhove, a battered but strategic town in the Donbas, Russia said. Kyiv’s forces were pressing a renewed offensive in southern Russia.

A total of 176 combat clashes have occurred on the battlefield over the past day, with the highest number recorded on the Pokrovsk front (41 attacks) and in the operational zone in Russia's Kursk Oblast (32 attacks).

Ukrainian forces on Sunday launched a new offensive inside Russia's western Kursk border region, going on the attack with substantial forces.

Ukraine said on Tuesday its forces were "commencing new offensive actions" in Russia's western Kursk region, in its first substantive remarks two days after Russian reports of a renewed Ukrainian thrust in the area.

Ukraine launched a surprise new offensive in Russia’s Kursk region on Sunday, aiming to strike back after months under pressure ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Ukraine launched a new offensive in Russia's Kursk region Sunday, Moscow and Kyiv said. Ukrainian forces had captured about 500 square miles of the western Russian province in a surprise incursion in August, but Russian and North Korean troops are believed to have retaken 40-50% of that area.

Russia said Sunday that Ukraine had launched a "counterattack" in the western border region of Kursk, where Kyiv's forces began a shock ground offensive last August.

Russia has claimed that its forces captured a battered but strategic town in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, a day after Kyiv launched a counterattack in the Russian region of Kursk.

In a short post on Telegram, Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said: "Kursk, good news, Russia is getting what it deserves."

Putin, unable to dislodge Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, loses face in the lead-up to Trump's inauguration.