ALSO SEE: In Chaotic Kursk, Russian Vehicles Piled With Troops Are Rolling Right Up To Ukrainian Tanks—
And Getting Blasted At Point-Blank Range

Russia lost a record number of soldiers in one day on Monday, Ukrainian intelligence said after its forces appeared to repel an initial phase of Moscow’s counteroffensive in the Kursk region.

Some 1,950 Russian troops were killed or injured on Monday, the Ukrainian army said, after footage showed Russian armoured vehicles being destroyed as they launched their offensive.

Armoured personnel carriers loaded with infantry were destroyed in “less than an hour of combat” after driving into a concealed minefield during a rare daylight charge, the Kyiv Post reported.

Footage showed columns of armoured vehicles, each carrying around 30 men, driving one after another onto mines before blowing up.

Ukraine had been losing ground in Kursk after Russia launched a previous attempt to regain their land, though Kyiv’s forces have been able to hold onto their gains in recent weeks.

Speaking on Tuesday, Anastasiia Blyshchyk, a spokesman for the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade of Ukraine, said the situation on the frontline in Kursk was difficult but “under control”.

Ms Blyshchyk said Monday was a “dark day for Russian occupation forces” as Ukrainian forces had destroyed 10 of their armoured vehicles.

A battalion deployed to launch waves of attacks in Kursk was “effectively neutralises,” Ms Blyshchyk added.

It comes after Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had sent 50,000 troops to the Kursk region, up from 11,000 when Kyiv launched its daring counter-offensive in August. North Korean troops are also being deployed in Kursk as part of Moscow’s counter-offensive.

It comes after The Telegraph reported that Putin is aiming to recapture Kursk from Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office as US president in January.

Ukrainian officials believed when they launched their invasion of Kursk that holding Russian land could force Moscow into peace talks.

But there are fears that when Mr Trump takes office, Kyiv could be forced into making concessions as the president-elect seeks to fulfil a campaign promise to end the war and reduce the amount being spent by Washington on the war.

Mr Trump reportedly expressed interest in two aspects of Volodymyr Zelensky’s ‘Victory Plan’.

One involved replacing some of the American troops stationed in Europe with Ukrainian troops after the war.

The other, initially suggested by Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator, involved sharing Ukraine’s critical natural resources with Western partners, the Financial Times reported.