![Ukraine launches counterattack in Russian border region as Zelenskyy to ask allies for boost in air defenses](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2025/01/05/710ce2c6-9c97-4349-9a01-fc25e995f7c3/thumbnail/1200x630/34909f01159ae6cdad746a3c7847a4f8/gettyimages-2192492963.jpg?v=fa9977353833f46f40b07abcd9d5240b)
Ukraine launches counterattack in Russian border region as Zelenskyy to ask allies for boost in air defenses
CBSN
Ukrainian forces launched a counterattack in the western border region of Kursk, warning that Russia was "getting what it deserves."
Though it was not immediately clear how much Ukraine had advanced in the region, the assault comes at a critical juncture in the nearly three-year conflict with both sides seeking to boost their negotiating hand ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House on Jan. 20.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that he will again call on allies to boost his country's air defenses at a meeting of the Ramstein group in Germany this week.
![](/newspic/picid-6252001-20250207152954.jpg)
Beijing — China on Friday lashed out at what it called U.S. "coercion" after Panama declined to renew a key infrastructure agreement with Beijing following Washington's threat to take back the Panama Canal. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a briefing that China "firmly opposes the U.S. smearing and undermining the Belt and Road cooperation through means of pressure and coercion."