Estonian Defence Ministry: Despite talks of negotiations, Russian troops keep pace of advance

Despite massive losses, Russian troops in Ukraine continue to advance while maintaining up the pace of combat.

As reported by Estonian public broadcaster ERR, the Estonian Ministry of Defence reports that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have maintained a similar level of activity on the front line over the past week compared to previous weeks – an average of 168 attacks per day.

Thus, despite Western and Russian media increasingly reporting on the possibility of approaching peace talks in recent weeks, this is not reflected on the battlefield, and Russian troops continue to wage a war of attrition with heavy losses, the ministry said.

The Russian Armed Forces continue to actively recruit, including in the St Petersburg Oblast, where those who join are paid increasingly large lump sums and higher salaries.

Estonian Ministry of Defence claims that the Russian Armed Forces are trying to compensate for losses at the front line and form new units to continue military operations.

Gert Kaju, Head of Defence Readiness Department of the Estonian Ministry of Defence, who provided the Defence Ministry's data, noted that neither side achieved significant results in Russiaʼs Kursk Oblast over the past week.

"No significant territories were lost, and no new ones were occupied, so there may be a stalemate there to some extent. But there are still active hostilities there," Kaju said.

North Korean troops have not been observed actively fighting in Kursk Oblast over the past week. 

"This may be because they had suffered quite heavy losses earlier and were withdrawn to the rear to regroup," he added.

The ministry believes that moving additional troops, as well as indirect-action munitions and artillery equipment, from North Korea to Ukraine cannot be ruled out.

Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast and the Pokrovsk front remain the primary concentration locations for Russian armed forces. Russian troops pushed gradually in this direction, seizing approximately 25 sq km of territory over the past week.

On 24 January, Colonel Ants Kiviselg, the Head of the Estonian Defence Forces Intelligence Centre, said that there were signs that North Korea would send more troops to help Russia before the summer.

UK Defence Intelligence reported that North Korea had lost about 4,000 soldiers in the Russian-Ukrainian war as of January 2025.