Russian forces have retaken 63.2% of the territory captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region of western Russia, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday.

What’s old is new again as Russia’s wider war on Ukraine grinds toward its fourth year. During World War II, some armies—the British Army, in particular—bolted metal spans to the top of tank chassis and used the resulting “funnies” to rapidly erect bridges across vehicle-halting gaps on the battlefield.

At least four Russian officers were killed in Ukraine's attack on the town of Lgov in Russia's Kursk Oblast on Dec. 30, independent Russian media outlet Mediazona reported on Jan. 17, citing recently published obituaries.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces had retaken 63.2% of Ukrainian-held territory in the Kursk region of western Russia. Meanwhile, Germany's top diplomat has criticised the Berlin row over aid.

Ukraine launched a daring offensive into Russia's Kursk region, hoping to stretch Russia's resources and gain a new bargaining chip.

Both Russia and Ukraine suffer heavy casualties in the battles in Kursk, with questions about their abilities to sustain the war.

The 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade repelled an assault of Russian troops near the village of Zhuravka in Sumy Oblast on the border with Russia's Kursk Oblast, according to the brigade's Jan. 15 statement.

Ukraine aimed to challenge the self-imposed red lines set by the Biden administration and other Western leaders regarding its ability to strike back against Russia.

Since the new push in Russia’s Kursk Oblast in early January, Ukraine has made small gains and managed to capture the first North Korean prisoners of war in the area but experts have raised concerns about Kyiv’s use of limited resources while fierce battles rage elsewhere.

Kiev has lost up to 52,870 troops since military actions started in the Kursk area, according to the Russian Defense Ministry

Russian forces have claimed a breakthrough in capturing two settlements in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region as an onslaught of overnight bombardment across Ukraine killed six people.The Russian Defence Ministry announced the capture of Petropavlivka,