Fronts in Ukraine 'heat up' in face of new situation

Kyiv [Ukraine], December 19: The US has handed over to NATO the responsibility of coordinating Western military aid to Kyiv, as the incoming Trump administration begins to move forward with its plans for Ukraine.
General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that the country's units are facing fierce counterattacks from the Russian army in the Kursk region.
"For the third consecutive day, the enemy forces continued their fierce counterattack in the Kursk region ," Reuters quoted General Syrskyi as saying yesterday. Ukraine has been moving troops across the border with Russia since August and attacking many targets in the Kursk region. However, so far the Kyiv government's army has lost 40% of the territory that Russia had controlled in the past few months.
In addition, the Ukrainian commander-in-chief said fighting was also escalating in Donetsk, in the east of the country, where Russian forces have advanced at the fastest pace this year. The Russian side continued to focus on attacking the Ukrainian army's logistics centers in Pokrovsk and Kurakhove. On the same day, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had taken control of the village of Hannivka, north of Pokrovsk. The military blog Deep State also reported that Russian troops had taken control of Hannivka.
Further northeast in the city of Toretsk, Ukrainian units are still holding out against Russian pressure, Reuters reported, citing Ukrainian military spokeswoman Anastasia Bobovnikova.
Fighting between Russia and Ukraine is escalating as the US transitions power. Retired General Keith Kellogg, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be a special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, is planning to visit Kyiv and other European capitals early next month, Reuters reported on December 18, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Sources familiar with the trip said the purpose of the trip was to gather information for the upcoming plan after Mr. Trump officially took office. However, the trip was made so soon after January 1, 2025, reflecting the positive move of the next administration in Washington to resolve the war in Ukraine.
Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the transition team, would not comment on any planned meetings during Kellogg's trip, but she said the president-elect would prioritize resolving the conflict in Ukraine after taking office.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper