Latest war in Ukraine: Kiev launches eight ballistic missiles, Moscow claims; shocking election results threaten support for Ukraine | World news

The war in Ukraine is ‘moving to two different regions’ – and an upswing in fighting over winter is less likely than in the past two years, says our military analyst Sean Bell.

Discussing the situation on the ground, he says a “crushing war of attrition” is underway in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces are waging an intense offensive aimed at capturing the key city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.

“Russia hasn’t really succeeded yet, but it is losing a huge amount of casualties,” Bell says. “Winter sets in. Natural foliage disappears. The entire battlefield becomes a lot more visible and it becomes a battle for survival.”

But beyond eastern Ukraine, a “new battle” is raging over the Russian border region of Kursk, where “a lot of eyes are on it at the moment,” Bell added.

Ukraine invaded the region in August and captured some of Russia’s territory, but has since lost about 40% of it.

Bell says Moscow initially saw the invasion as an attempt by Kiev to distract the country from its mission in eastern Ukraine.

“Now, however, it seems that Russia has picked up the pace (in Kursk),” he explains.

“It seems that Russia has decided that President Putin doesn’t want Russian territory in Ukrainian hands with January 20 (the US presidential inauguration) if push comes to shove, so they are determined to drive that out.”

The impending arrival of the Trump administration suggests the usual cessation of fighting won’t happen until early next year, despite bitterly cold conditions setting in, Bell says.