Tue Jan 28 20:10:00 IST 2025: ## Russia Reclaims Border Village from Ukraine
**MOSCOW** – The Russian Ministry of Defense announced Monday that its forces have retaken Nikolayevo-Darino, a small village in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine. The village, with a population under 150, was seized by Ukrainian troops during a cross-border offensive last August. This marks a further reversal of Ukrainian gains in the area, where Russia has been steadily pushing back the Kyiv advance since the initial incursion.
The recapture follows the deployment of significant reinforcements to the region, including thousands of troops from North Korea, in response to the unexpected Ukrainian offensive. While Ukraine initially claimed control over nearly 1,400 square kilometers of Russian territory, a Ukrainian military source reported in November that this area had shrunk to approximately 800 square kilometers. The ongoing conflict has led to the evacuation of thousands of residents from the Kursk region, with many others remaining in areas controlled by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine claims to be facilitating the safe passage of Russian civilians from these areas. The Russian Defense Ministry characterized the operation as the liberation of Nikolayevo-Darino by units of the ‘North’ group of troops.
First Piper 