Sun Jan 05 06:54:25 UTC 2025: ## Ukraine War Update: Heavy Losses Claimed on Both Sides Amidst Escalating Attacks

**Kyiv, Ukraine** – The war in Ukraine continues to rage, with both sides claiming significant battlefield successes and losses on the 1,046th day of the conflict. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported heavy losses for Russian and North Korean forces in the Kursk region, claiming up to a battalion of North Korean soldiers were killed near Makhnovka. Zelenskyy also reported Russian airstrikes hitting villages in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, wounding 10 people, including two children, in one attack.

Meanwhile, Russia claims to have shot down eight US-supplied ATACMS missiles launched by Ukraine towards Belgorod, vowing a response. The Russian Defense Ministry also reported taking control of the village of Nadiya in Luhansk and shooting down numerous Ukrainian drones, including over the Leningrad region. They also reported that their air defense systems intercepted 10 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory. The ministry’s claims remain unverified.

The conflict has also extended to the media. Russian state media reported the death of freelance correspondent Alexander Martemyanov in a reported Ukrainian drone attack, an incident the Russian Foreign Ministry denounced as a “deliberate murder.” Two RIA Novosti correspondents and two journalists from a Donetsk publication were reportedly injured in the same incident. This brings the reported number of journalists killed since the full-scale invasion to at least 16, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

On another front, Ukraine’s air force reported shooting down 61 out of 103 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack, with a further 42 drones considered “lost.” Adding to Russia’s challenges, the pro-Russian Transnistria region in Moldova is experiencing rolling blackouts due to a disruption in its Russian gas supply, which transits through Ukraine. Further fueling concerns, oil spills from damaged Russian tankers were detected off the coast of Sevastopol in Crimea. The ongoing intensity of the conflict and the conflicting claims underscore the volatile situation on the ground.

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