Russia’s Defense Ministry is claiming that its troops in eastern Ukraine have captured the town of Kurakhove after a months-long battle.

Russian troops in eastern Ukraine have captured the stronghold of Kurakhove after a monthslong battle, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed on Monday, adding the wrecked town to the Kremlin’s list of conquests in the partially occupied Donetsk region during the almost three-year war.

Ukrainian armed forces on Sunday night began a surprise offensive in Russia’s Kursk region. This was in an apparent attempt to regain the initiative on the battlefield before Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House,

Russia's Kursk region is back in the news, with word from Moscow that Ukraine launched a new offensive there on Sunday. NBC News calls the move an apparent effort to grab new territory in the region,