Russia reports seizure of Kurakhove in Donetsk, Ukraine says street fighting going on

Russia said on Monday that its forces had taken control of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region, while Ukraine said that street fighting in Kurakhove is still going on.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported Monday that Russian troops had fully taken over Kurakhove, which will help expand operational space for the Russian army and further accelerate their effort of controlling the entire Donetsk.

On the same day, Ukraine's national television and broadcasting agency quoted a statement from a Ukrainian military spokesperson as saying that street fighting in Kurakhove was still going on as of Monday morning, but it was difficult to provide an accurate assessment of the territory controlled by the Ukrainian army in the city.

Serhiy Leshchenko, chief adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office, said on Monday that the Ukrainian armed forces are expanding their controlled area in the Kursk direction, which could potentially be exchanged for the land currently held by Russia.

Leshchenko further noted that the Ukrainian combat forces operating in Kursk comprise amphibious assault brigades and ground forces equipped with advanced Western weapons, with adequate capabilities.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that a Russian army group repelled a counterattack by Ukrainian forces in the direction of Bolshoye Soldatskoye area in the Kursk region, with support from aviation and artillery units.

The majority of the Ukrainian contingent has been destroyed, with losses exceeding 150 soldiers, alongside four tanks and 16 armored vehicles, it said.

Russia reports seizure of Kurakhove in Donetsk, Ukraine says street fighting going on

South Korea's court on Tuesday granted the extension of the warrant to arrest the impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol, which was issued by the same court on Dec. 31 last year.

The joint investigation unit, composed of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), the National Office of Investigation (NOI) and the defense ministry's investigative headquarters, said in a notice that the warrant to arrest Yoon was issued again in the afternoon.

The unit requested the Seoul Western District Court to re-issue an arrest warrant against Yoon on Monday when the first warrant expired after failing to arrest Yoon last Friday.

It marked the first time in the Asian country's modern history that an arrest warrant was issued against a sitting president.

The validity term of the second warrant could reportedly be longer than the first one which was valid for a week.

The CIO investigators and police officers attempted to arrest the impeached president in the presidential residence on Jan. 3, but it failed as the presidential security service blocked the execution of the warrant.

The impeachment motion against Yoon was passed in the National Assembly on Dec. 14 last year and was delivered to the constitutional court to deliberate about it for up to 180 days, during which Yoon's presidential power is suspended.

Yoon, who was named by investigative agencies as a suspected ringleader on an insurrection charge, declared martial law on the night of Dec. 3, but it was revoked by the National Assembly hours later.

South Korea's court grants extension of warrant to arrest President Yoon