Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia

Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia
A medic treats an injured Ukrainian serviceman on Pokrovsk direction in Ukraine on Dec. 23, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 28 December 2024
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Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia

Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia
  • Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders cannot evacuate the dead
  • Communication lags and poorly timed tactics have cost lives, and troops have little way to counterattack

KYIV: Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk, a region some want to hold at all costs while others question the value of having gone in at all.
Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders can’t evacuate the dead. Communication lags and poorly timed tactics have cost lives, and troops have little way to counterattack, seven front-line soldiers and commanders told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so they could discuss sensitive operations.
Since being caught unaware by the lightning Ukrainian incursion, Russia has amassed more than 50,000 troops in the region, including some from its ally North Korea. Precise numbers are hard to obtain, but Moscow’s counterattack has killed and wounded thousands and the overstretched Ukrainians have lost more than 40 percent of the 984 square kilometers (380 square miles) of Kursk they seized in August.
Its full-scale invasion three years ago left Russia holding a fifth of Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hinted that he hopes controlling Kursk will help force Moscow to negotiate an end to the war. But five Ukrainian and Western officials in Kyiv who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss sensitive military matters said they fear gambling on Kursk will weaken the whole 1000-kilometer front line, and Ukraine is losing precious ground in the east.
“We have, as they say, hit a hornet’s nest. We have stirred up another hot spot,” said Stepan Lutsiv, a major in the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade.
The border raid that became an occupation
Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has said that Ukraine launched the operation because officials thought Russia was about to launch a new attack on northeast Ukraine.
It began on Aug. 5 with an order to leave Ukraine’s Sumy region for what they thought would be a nine-day raid to stun the enemy. It became an occupation that Ukrainians welcomed as their smaller country gained leverage and embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Gathering his men, one company commander told them: “We’re making history; the whole world will know about us because this hasn’t been done since World War II.
Privately, he was less certain.
“It seemed crazy,” he said. “I didn’t understand why.”
Shocked by success achieved largely because the Russians were caught by surprise, the Ukrainians were ordered to advance beyond the original mission to the town of Korenevo, 25 kilometers into Russia. That was one of the first places where Russian troops counterattacked.
By early November the Russians began regaining territory rapidly. Once in awe of what they accomplished, troops’ opinions are shifting as they come to terms with losses. The company commander said half of his troops are dead or wounded.
Some front-line commanders said conditions are tough, morale is low and troops are questioning command decisions, even the very purpose of occupying Kursk.
Another commander said that some orders his men have received don’t reflect reality because of delays in communication. Delays occur especially when territory is lost to Russian troops, he said.
“They don’t understand where our side is, where the enemy is, what’s under our control, and what isn’t,” he said. “They don’t understand the operational situation, we so act at our own discretion.”
One platoon commander said higher ups have repeatedly turned down his requests to change his unit’s defensive position because he knows his men can’t hold the line.
“Those people who stand until the end are ending up MIA,” he said. He said he also knows of at least 20 Ukrainian soldiers whose bodies had been abandoned over the last four months because the battles were too intense to evacuate them without more casualties.
No option to retreat as Russia doubles down
Ukrainian soldiers said they were not prepared for the aggressive Russian response in Kursk, and cannot counterattack or pull back.
“There’s no other option. We’ll fight here because if we just pull back to our borders, they won’t stop; they’ll keep advancing,” said one drone unit commander.
The AP requested comment from Ukraine’s General Staff but did not receive a response before publication.
American longer-range weapons have slowed the Russian advance and North Korean soldiers who joined the fighting last month are easy targets for drones and artillery because they lack combat discipline and often move in large groups in the open, Ukrainian troops said.
On Monday, Zelensky said 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed and wounded. But they appear to be learning from their mistakes, soldiers added, by becoming more adept at camouflaging near forested lines.
One clash took place last week near Vorontsovo tract, a forested area between the settlements of Kremenne and Vorontsovo.
Until last week, the area was under Ukraine’s control. This week part of it has been lost to Russian forces and Ukrainian troops fear they will reach a crucial logistics route.
Eyeing frontline losses in the eastern region known as the Donbas — where Russia is closing on a crucial supply hub — some soldiers are more vocal about whether Kursk has been worth it.
“All the military can think about now is that Donbas has simply been sold,” the platoon commander said. “At what price?”


Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years

Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years
Updated 23 February 2025
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Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years

Bangladesh resumes direct trade with Pakistan after over 50 years
  • Bilateral ties have started to grow since the ouster of ex-PM Sheikh Hasina last August
  • Rice import may increase other opportunities for Bangladesh-Pakistan trade, expert says

DHAKA: Bangladesh will receive a delivery of 25,000 tonnes of rice from Pakistan next month, its food ministry said on Sunday, confirming the resumption of direct bilateral trade between the two governments after more than five decades.

Following decades of acrimonious ties, Bangladesh-Pakistan relations have started to grow after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina last August.

Bangladesh’s interim government has had more bilateral exchanges with Pakistan since, with the chief adviser, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, having met twice with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Earlier this month, Dhaka finalized a deal to import rice from Pakistan, the food ministry said.

“The first consignment of 25,000 tonnes will arrive in Bangladesh on March 3,” Zia Uddin Ahmed, an additional secretary at the ministry, told Arab News.

“Since 1971, this is the first time Bangladesh initiated rice import at (the government-to-government) level from Pakistan.”

Their growing trade ties followed the two South Asian nations’ direct maritime contact in November, when a Pakistani cargo ship docked in Bangladesh for the first time since 1971 with imports and exports organized by private businesses.

Amena Mohsin, an international relations expert and lecturer at the North South University, said resuming trade with Pakistan is an important move for Bangladesh.

“We want that bilateral relationship with Pakistan to move forward. We always diversify our relationships (but) most importantly, at the moment, we are experiencing a low point row with India … In this context, this latest decision to import rice from Pakistan is very significant,” she told Arab News.

In her 15 years of uninterrupted rule, Hasina’s government was hostile toward Pakistan but closely allied with India, where she fled last year following a student-led popular uprising and remains exiled. Her removal from office was followed by the cooling of relations between Dhaka and New Delhi.

“But (as we move) forward to strengthen the bilateral ties with Pakistan, the issue of 1971 should be resolved at the same time,” Mohsin added, referring to the 1971 war of independence, which he said still weighs heavy on the minds of the people of Bangladesh.

Dhaka’s decision to import rice from Pakistan has significance in addressing an ongoing crisis of the staple due to floods and economic instability, which has led the government to import large quantities from India to avoid shortage.

“At the moment, there is a rice crisis in the Bangladesh market, and we are in need of sourcing rice from different sources at a competitive price,” Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka, told Arab News.

“From that perspective, finding a new source (for importing rice) is a positive thing for us.”

Now that trade has resumed, Bangladesh and Pakistan have the potential to increase commerce ties in different areas, he added.

“Our businessmen can explore the Pakistan markets and consider the feasibility in terms of costs. With this latest rice import, opportunities to import other goods have increased here,” Moazzem said.

“It’s a new addition to the market, especially considering Bangladesh’s ongoing trade diversification efforts.”


Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 

Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 
Updated 23 February 2025
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Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 

Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station to resume broadcasts after Taliban suspension 
  • Radio Begum launched in March 2021, with programs aimed at educating girls
  • In the 2024 World Press Freedom Index, Afghanistan ranked 178 out of 180 countries 

Kabul: Afghanistan’s only women-led radio station will resume broadcasts, the Taliban Ministry of Information and Culture announced after it suspended the outlet’s operations this month over its cooperation with foreign media outlets. 

On Feb. 4, Taliban officials raided Kabul-based Radio Begum — a station run by women with programs aimed at educating girls and supporting Afghan women — and seized staff’s computers, hard drives and phones, and took into custody two male employees “who do not hold any senior management position,” the outlet said in a statement. 

In a statement issued on Saturday evening, the ministry said Radio Begum had been suspended “due to the improper use of their licenses and cooperation with foreign sanctioned media outlets.” 

Radio Begum has now been “granted permission to resume their activities,” the ministry said, after they made repeated requests and following a “pledge with the Broadcasting Directorate to operate in line with the principles of journalism and in accordance with the policies of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”

It did not provide details on what those principles and policies were nor the status of the radio station’s employees who were allegedly detained.

Launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, Radio Begum has been broadcasting hours of lessons daily, along with health, psychology and spiritual programs for women across most of Afghanistan. 

Its sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and televises classes that cover the Afghan school curriculum from seventh to 12th grade, providing education for many after the Taliban banned education for women and girls after the sixth grade. 

“It’s one of the few channels that discussed issues related to women and girls,” said Najiba, 28, a Kabul resident and listener of Radio Begum. 

“I particularly listened to their programs on health and women entrepreneurs. I was happy to be able to receive some information about women-related health issues from the radio. The other program that featured businesswomen was also encouraging. It inspired other women and gave us hope to learn skills and work for ourselves.” 

While the resumption of Radio Begum’s operations was welcomed, the initial suspension was still concerning for Meena Akbari, an Afghan women’s rights activist. 

“It was a concerning move. The few media outlets that are left in the country should be supported instead of being contained and closed,” Akbari told Arab News.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, the country’s media landscape has been “decimated,” according to Reporters without Borders, which cited the disappearance of 43 percent of Afghan media outlets in the past four years and ranked the country 178 out of 180 in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index. 

“With Afghan women and girls already facing increasing restrictions since the Taliban takeover, platforms such as these are vital for women to get information from and continue learning about different topics,” Akbari said. 

“It’s a good decision that the government allowed the station to resume broadcasts. Hopefully, it continues to benefit Afghan women and Afghans in general.”


Afghan women’s radio station Radio Begum to resume broadcasts after Taliban lifts suspension

Afghan women’s radio station Radio Begum to resume broadcasts after Taliban lifts suspension
Updated 23 February 2025
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Afghan women’s radio station Radio Begum to resume broadcasts after Taliban lifts suspension

Afghan women’s radio station Radio Begum to resume broadcasts after Taliban lifts suspension
  • Radio Begum was launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021 months before Taliban takeover
  • Taliban information ministry says suspension lifted after station made commitments to Afghan authorities

An Afghan women’s radio station will resume broadcasts after the Taliban suspended its operations, citing “unauthorized provision” of content to an overseas TV channel and improperly using its license.
Radio Begum launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, five months before the Taliban seized power amid the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO troops.
The station’s content is produced entirely by Afghan women. Its sister satellite channel, Begum TV, operates from France and broadcasts programs that cover the Afghan school curriculum from seventh to 12th grade. The Taliban have banned education for women and girls in the country beyond grade six.
In a statement issued Saturday night, the Taliban’s Information and Culture Ministry said Radio Begum had “repeatedly requested” to restart operations and that the suspension was lifted after the station made commitments to authorities.
The station pledged to conduct broadcasts “in accordance with the principles of journalism and the regulations of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and to avoid any violations in the future,” it added.
The ministry did not elaborate what those principles and regulations were. Radio Begum was not immediately available for comment.
Since their takeover, the Taliban have excluded women from education, many kinds of work, and public spaces. Journalists, especially women, have lost their jobs as the Taliban tighten their grip on the media.
In the 2024 press freedom index from Reporters without Borders, Afghanistan ranks 178 out of 180 countries. The year before that it ranked 152.
The Information Ministry did not initially identify the TV channel it alleged Radio Begum had been working with. But the Saturday statement mentioned collaboration with “foreign sanctioned media outlets.”


France makes arrests after deadly ‘Islamist’ knife attack

France makes arrests after deadly ‘Islamist’ knife attack
Updated 23 February 2025
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France makes arrests after deadly ‘Islamist’ knife attack

France makes arrests after deadly ‘Islamist’ knife attack

MULHOUSE, France: French police have made several arrests since a man went on a stabbing rampage, killing one and wounding several others in what President Emmanuel Macron called an “Islamist terrorist act,” anti-terror prosecutors told AFP Sunday.
The knife-wielding suspect, identified by prosecutors as a 37-year-old Algerian-born man, was arrested at the site of Saturday’s attack in the eastern city of Mulhouse.
He was on a terrorism watchlist and subject to deportation orders.
A further three people were in custody in connection with the case Sunday, the PNAT prosecutors unit said, without giving details.
Local prosecutor Nicolas Heitz said the suspect, who he did not name, was registered on France’s terrorist watchlist.
Speaking at the police station late Saturday, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said the man had “a schizophrenic profile” and his act had “a psychiatric dimension.”
Retailleau said France had repeatedly attempted to expel him from the country, but Algeria refused to cooperate.
The rampage occurred around 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) near a busy market in Mulhouse, a city of around 110,000 people near the German border. At the time, demonstrators were rallying in support of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A 69-year-old Portuguese man was fatally wounded while parking attendants and police were also hurt.
Two officers were seriously wounded, with one sustaining an injury to a carotid artery, and the other to the upper body, prosecutor Heitz told AFP, adding that the latter officer was able to leave hospital.
Three other officers suffered minor injuries, prosecutors said.
During the attack, the suspect was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest), according to the national anti-terror prosecutors unit (PNAT).
Witnesses also told AFP they heard the suspect shouting the words several times.
Macron later said there was “no doubt” that the incident was “a terrorist act,” specifically “an Islamist terrorist act.”
The government was determined to continue doing “everything to eradicate terrorism on our soil,” he added.
Speaking during a visit to France’s agriculture fair Saturday, Macron offered condolences to the family of the victim and said the “solidarity of the nation” was behind them.
PNAT said it was investigating the attack for murder and attempted murder “in connection with a terrorist enterprise.”

TERROR ATTACKS
The terrorist watchlist, called FSPRT, compiles data from various authorities on individuals with the aim of preventing “terrorist” radicalization.
It was launched in 2015 following deadly attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo’s offices and on a Jewish supermarket.
Retailleau told French broadcaster TF1 that France had tried to expel him 10 times, with Algeria refusing each time to accept him.
“Once again, it is Islamist terrorism that has struck,” he said. And, once again, he added, problems of migration were “at the origin of this terrorist act.”
There was no immediate comment from Algeria’s presidency or foreign ministry.
Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said that “fanaticism has struck again, and we are in mourning.”
Mulhouse Mayor Michele Lutz wrote on Facebook that “horror has just seized our city.”
France’s foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said there would be a meeting of the government’s immigration control council on Wednesday to discuss the implications of the case.
“We must do more, and we must do better,” he told the Europe 1 broadcaster.
France has recently experienced a string of stabbings deemed acts of terror.
In January, a 32-year-old knife-wielding man wounded a person in a supermarket in Apt, in the south of France. He was charged and jailed for attempted murder in connection with a terrorist undertaking.
In December 2023, a man suspected of stabbing a German tourist to death near the Eiffel Tower was charged with carrying out a terror attack.


14 die in central Nigeria road crash: official

14 die in central Nigeria road crash: official
Updated 23 February 2025
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14 die in central Nigeria road crash: official

14 die in central Nigeria road crash: official

KANO: Fourteen people were killed on Saturday when a bus collided with a petrol tanker in central Nigerian Niger state, a road safety official told AFP Sunday.
The passenger bus rammed into the on-coming petrol tanker as the driver tried to overtake another bus outside Kusobogi village, 80 km from the state capital Minna, Kumar Tsukwan, head of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Niger state, said.
“Fourteen people died in the head-on collision while six others were injured and taken to hospital for medical attention,” Tsukwan said.
He blamed “speeding and wrongful overtaking” by the bus driver for the accident.
The bus was heading to the northern city of Kaduna from the Nigerian economic capital Lagos, Tsukwan said.
Road accidents are common on Nigeria’s poorly maintained roads due largely to speeding and disregard to traffic rules.
Last week 23 people died when a truck laden with goods and passengers overturned in northern city of Kano.
Last year Nigeria recorded 9,570 road accidents which resulted in 5,421 deaths, according FRSC data.