On Aug.6, a powerful Ukrainian force invaded Kursk Oblast in western Russia and captured what is now a 250-square-mile salient anchored by the town of Sudzha. On Nov. 7, an equally powerful Russian force counterattacked—aiming to drive toward Sudzha along the main road threading from Zelenyi Shylakh on the western edge of the salient.

Kyiv's forces struck an advanced Russian air-defense system in the border Kursk region, according to Ukraine's military, shortly after the U.S. green-lit attacks over the border using long-range American weapons and as North Korean soldiers are expected to join front-line clashes in the area.