French-trained soldiers desert Ukraine as President Macron warns US must help fight Russia

French President Emmanuelle Macron had stern words for Donald Trump, warning that America has “no chance of winning anything” if Ukraine loses. Follow updates.

Ukraine’s land forces commander said that the army was “inflicting losses” in Russia’s Kursk region after Moscow reported a counterattack by Kyiv’s forces.

“In the Kursk region we are confidently inflicting losses,” Ukraine’s land forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty said in comments to media including AFP in the eastern Donetsk region.

However, Ukraine’s land forces commander on Monday said there were “problems” with an army unit partly trained in France after reports that many of its soldiers had deserted.

“Yes there are problems, we are aware of them,” Land Forces Commander Mykhailo Drapaty said in comments to media including AFP, after Ukrainian investigators opened a probe into desertion and “abuse of power” in the 155th Mechanised Brigade, known as the “Anne of Kyiv” brigade.

It comes as French President Emmanuel Macron urged Ukraine to have “realistic” expectations on territory as its fight against the Russian invasion heads into a fourth year, saying he saw no “quick and easy solution” to the conflict.

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, is currently occupying about 20 percent of the neighbouring country’s territory.

“There will be no quick and easy solution in Ukraine,” Mr Macron said in a speech to French ambassadors.

At the same time he warned that Ukrainians needed to have “realistic discussions on territorial issues.”

“The United States of America must help us to change the nature of the situation and convince Russia to come to the negotiating table”, Mr Macron said.

The Europeans will have to offer “security guarantees” for Ukraine, he added. “The new American president knows himself that the United States has no chance of winning anything if Ukraine loses,” Mr Macron said.

He also warned that the credibility of Western countries would be “shattered” if they agreed to compromise on Ukraine because of “fatigue.”

“A capitulation by Ukraine cannot be good for Europeans and Americans,” the French president said.

Trump has described US assistance to Ukraine as wasteful, with his aides suggesting leveraging US assistance to force territorial concessions to Russia.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed optimism in a recent interview that Mr Trump will force Russia into peace talks and end the war.

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RUSSIA ‘CAPTURES IMPORTANT HUB’

Russian forces have captured the “important logistics hub” of Kurakhove in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said on Monday, in a key advance after months of steady gains in the area.

Russian units “have fully liberated the town of Kurakhove – the biggest settlement in southwestern Donbas”, the ministry said on Telegram.

The industrial town, which had a pre-war population of around 22,000 people, is located next to a reservoir and is home to a power station.

Russia’s defence ministry claims its forces have “liberated’ the “important logistics hub” of Kurakhove, which includes a power station and reservoir.

The ministry said Ukrainian forces had made the town “a powerful fortified area with a developed network of long-standing firing positions and underground communications”.

It called the town “an important logistics hub” and said its capture would allow Russian forces to seize the rest of the Donetsk region “at an accelerated pace”.

Russia has sped up its advance across eastern Ukraine in recent months, looking to secure as much territory as possible before US President-elect Donald Trump comes to power in January.

The Republican has promised to bring a swift end to the nearly three-year conflict, without proposing any concrete proposals for a ceasefire or peace deal.

RUSSIAN DISASTER AS UKRAINE WIPES OUT BATTALION

Ukrainian has caught Russia in a surprise attack, wiping out an entire battalion of Russian and North Korean troops about 100km inside the Russian border at Kursk.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims his forces were “eliminating” a large number of Russian troops after they were caught unaware.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pictured in December, says his army is shoring up the Russian front. Picture: Olivier Matthys/Pool/AFP

Russian authorities confirmed that Ukraine had launched a “counter-attack” in the border region of Kursk, where Kyiv’s forces began a shock ground offensive last August.

“At about 9am Moscow time (0600 GMT), in order to halt the advance of Russian troops in the Kursk direction, the enemy launched a counter-attack,” the Russian defence ministry said.

It was not immediately clear how much Ukraine had advanced in the region, but pro-Kremlin military bloggers reported earlier that a powerful new offensive was under way.

The Ukrainian offensive comes just days after a Russian drone attack caused havoc in Kyiv. Picture: Handout/Ukrainian State Emergency Service/AFP

Firefighters extinguish flames following a Russian drone attack on Kyiv on January 1. Picture: Handout/Ukrainian State Emergency Service/AFP

“Fierce battles continue along the entire front line, with the hottest spot being near Pokrovsk,” said President Zelenskyy in a televised address last night.

“The occupier continues to waste an insane number of its people in assaults. And I thank each and every one of our units, all our brigades defending Ukrainian positions and eliminating the occupier.

“Specifically, in battles today and yesterday near just one village - Makhnovka in the Kursk region - the Russian army lost up to a battalion of infantry, including North Korean soldiers and Russian paratroopers. And that’s tangible.”

Ukrainian soldiers carry the coffin of a late Ukrainian serviceman during a funeral ceremony in Kyiv on January 2. Picture: Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP

People kneel to honour a fallen Ukranian soldier during a funeral procession at the Independence Square in Kyiv, on January 3. Picture: Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP

Head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, said the Russian forces were attacked from several directions at once during the powerful offensive.

Ukraine used two tanks, a dozen armoured vehicles and a demolition unit in the assault, which was headed towards the village of Berdin – about 15 kilometres northeast of Sudzha.

Images purportedly showing a column of Ukrainian armoured vehicles driving through the snow were shared by pro-Russia military blogger Dva Mayora on Telegram.

Zelenskyy (R) is trying to strengthen his position before incoming US President Donald Trip (L) returns to the White House later this month. Picture: Oleg Nikishin/Getty Images

It’s a significant development as Russia advanced almost 4000 sqkm into Ukraine in 2024, seven times more than in 2023, which many experts speculated could lead to victory.

However, Ukraine has conducted significant operations into Russia in the last four months.

Russia declared a state of emergency and evacuate about 200,000 people from the area when Ukrainian forces pushed about 30km past the border into the Kursk region.

The assault comes at a critical juncture in the nearly three-year conflict, with both sides trying to secure their positions before Donald Trump’s return to the White House on January 20.

Russian "Z-bloggers" report that Ukrainians are in assault in Kursk region. According to them, Ukraine used powerful electronic warfare so Russian drones can't fly.

Heavy combat is taking place.

Ukrainian General Staff reported 42 combats in Kursk region, 12 of them are… pic.twitter.com/mpBrMuDcF6

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) January 5, 2025

DOZENS OF UKRAINIAN DRONES WIPED OUT

It comes as Russia said downed dozens of Ukrainian drones overnight in a barrage that damaged homes and triggered air alerts.

Videos posted on social media appeared to show distant explosions in the southern Rostov region, while an air raid siren could be heard in the background.

“During the past night, 61 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by air defences,” the Russian defence ministry said, adding most were intercepted over regions near the Ukrainian border.

Four airports briefly suspended traffic early Sunday for “safety” reasons, forcing at least eight planes to divert course, a spokesman for Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said.

In the port city of Taganrog and surrounding area, falling debris from downed drones damaged civilian property, according to local Rostov region governor Yuri Slyusar.

🇺🇦🇷🇺🚨Ukrainian drones attacked Rostov region of Russia at night

There is information about a UAV hitting a military airfield in Taganrog#Ukraine#UkraineWarpic.twitter.com/lEg1Jo0mlK

— Authentic World Updates (@worldupdates245) January 5, 2025

“Windows were broken, roofs and walls of residential houses were damaged, cars were also affected,” he said.

Moscow and Kyiv have exchanged almost daily drone attacks through the nearly three-year conflict, damaging civilian areas far from the frontline and depleting each other’s air defences.

The Ukrainian air force said Russia sent 103 drones into its territory, 61 of which were shot down while 42 were “decoys”.

“Several private houses were damaged in the Kharkiv region as a result of the fall of a damaged attack drone,” it said.

Three people were wounded in the northeast Kharkiv region as a result of the attack, while four buildings were damaged, regional prosecutors said.

RUSSIA VOWS RESPONSE TO US-SUPPLIED MISSILES

Russia has vowed to retaliate after it accused Ukraine of firing US-supplied ATACMS missiles at the border region of Belgorod the previous day.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden authorised Kyiv to use the long-range weapons against Russia last year, in a move the Kremlin denounced as a grave escalation of the nearly three-year conflict.

(L-R) US President Joe Biden speaks alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Picture: Paul Ellis/Pool/Getty Images

“On January 3, an attempt was made from Ukrainian territory to launch a missile strike against the Belgorod region using US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles,” the Russian defence ministry said.

“These actions by the Kyiv regime, which is supported by Western curators, will be met with retaliation,” it added, saying all the missiles were shot down.

The ministry said earlier that air defences downed eight ATACMS missiles in total, without saying when or where.

Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened last year to strike central Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile if Ukraine continued hitting Russian territory with long-range Western weapons.

US President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview last month he was “very vehemently” opposed to Ukraine using the arms, which he said were “escalating” the conflict.

Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of fatal attacks on civilians since the year began.

Originally published as French-trained soldiers desert Ukraine as President Macron warns US must help fight Russia