Ukraine launched a new surprise attack in the region Kursk her of Russia on Sunday, aiming to fight back after months of pressure on battlefield and ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The offensive appears to be aimed at seizing new territory in the region, where Kiev forces first invaded last August. Since then, the Kremlin has recaptured a chunk of its territory but is fighting to fully expel Ukrainian troops, even deploying thousands of North Korean troops in recent weeks.

Reports of the new attack first emerged from accounts by prominent Russian military bloggers early Sunday, before officials in Kiev and then Moscow’s defense ministry confirmed that Ukrainian forces had launched a major new push to seize territory.

“The defense forces are actively working,” Andriy Kovalevsky, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, told Telegram. “The situation in the Kursk region appears to be of considerable concern to the Russians as they have been caught off guard on several fronts.”

Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, also reported: “Kursk region, good news: Russia is getting what it deserves.”

Hours later, Russian state media citing the country’s defense ministry reported that Russian troops repelled two Ukrainian attacks in Kursk on Sunday.

“In total, in the last 24 hours, the “North” group in Kursk defeated 14 Ukrainian brigades and repelled two counterattacks,” the Defense Ministry said, as reported by the Russian state news agency RIA.

The attack follows months of setbacks for Ukraine.

Since the surprise invasion of Russia in August, the Ukrainian military has been characterized by low morale and low manpower amid a barrage of Russian attacks.

Kievan forces largely resisted Russian attempts to retake Kursk.

The Kremlin’s military is pushing to regain territory there and seize new ones in order to push forward on the war’s eastern fronts.

The Ukrainian military said on Saturday that the “hottest” front was near Pokrovsk, a major road and rail hub that Russia has been pushing towards for months.

The new attack in Kursk comes as Ukraine may face pressure from Trump for a peace deal with Moscow with trade-offs unfavorable to Kiev.

If ceasefire negotiations are to be held, Ukraine wants to do so from a position of strength.

Zelensky also said on Saturday that Russian forces suffered heavy losses in manpower in a day of fighting in Kursk.

Defense ministry accounts and bloggers said the fighting was concentrated north of a highway running from Shuja, near the border, to Kursk, the regional capital.

A blogger, Yuriy Podoliaka, called Ukraine’s attack a “long-awaited counterattack.”

“Fighting continues towards Berdin. Heavy fighting is underway and the enemy is advancing seriously,” he said.

The Russian Defense Ministry also said in its statement that Ukraine launched an attack on the village of Berdin, about 16 miles from Shuja. The assault included tanks, a mine clearance vehicle, armored fighting vehicles and paratroopers. But Podoliaka said this was likely a Ukrainian maneuver, possibly to prepare a strike on Glushkovo, further west.