Russia said on Monday (Jan 6) its forces had made important gains in eastern Ukraine while continuing to fend off a new Ukrainian offensive inside the Kursk region of western Russia, where a second day of fierce fighting was under way. The Russian defence ministry said its forces had captured the town of Kurakhove, 32km south of Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian logistics hub towards which Russian forces have been advancing for months. The ministry said taking Kurakhove, which had held out for many weeks,