Russians attempt to push Ukrainian forces out of Kursk region - ISW
Photo: Ukrainian units attempt to push out of Kursk region (facebook.com/easternforce)
The Russian army has intensified its campaign to push the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of the Kursk region. Combat operations are taking place in settlements near the city of Sudzha, with the enemy attempting to encircle and expel Ukrainian units, according to the report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The report states that numerous Russian bloggers and sources claim the rapid advance of Russian troops toward the city of Sudzha.
According to geolocation footage released on March 8, Russian forces recently captured the village of Cherkasske Porechne, located north of Sudzha.
Russian military bloggers claim that units of the 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment (72nd Motorized Rifle Division, 44th Army Corps, Leningrad Military District) and the 1427th Motorized Rifle Regiment (formed during the partial mobilization in 2022) are advancing in the area of Cherkasske Porechne.
A Kremlin-linked blogger stated that airborne units captured Lebedivka (west of Sudzha), while another blogger claimed that Russian forces seized Kubatkin (north of Sudzha) and advanced up to eight kilometers deep into the Ukrainian salient.
A Russian source reported ongoing battles along the line of Lebedivka - Kubatkin - Bondarivka (to the northwest and southeast of Sudzha), but the situation in the area remains unclear.
According to Russian sources, Russian forces, including units of the 22nd Motorized Rifle Regiment (72nd Motorized Rifle Division), captured Viktoriivka and Mykolaivka. Meanwhile, units of the 9th Motorized Rifle Regiment (18th Motorized Rifle Division, 11th Army Corps, Leningrad Military District) and the 34th Motorized Rifle Brigade (49th Combined Arms Army, Southern Military District) are advancing in the area of Mala Loknia (all to the northwest of Sudzha).
Russian military bloggers claim that units of the 155th Separate Marine Brigade (Pacific Fleet) are advancing on Nikolskyi (northwest of Sudzha). The bloggers report that Russian and Chechen special forces units "Ahmat" captured Martynivka (northeast of Sudzha), while units of the 810th Marine Brigade (Black Sea Fleet) are advancing west of Kurylivka (south of Sudzha).
A Russian military blogger claims that Russian forces recently exploited a failed rotation of Ukrainian troops to advance south of Sudzha. An unnamed Ukrainian commander operating in the Kursk region told the New York Post that approximately 8 to 10 Russian vehicles recently broke through Ukrainian positions near Sudzha and managed to quickly advance. He likely referred to the recent Russian advance south of Sudzha, between Kurylivka and Guyevo.
Attacks on Sudzha
Moreover, on March 8, Russian forces began attacks on the city of Sudzha, according to ISW. Russian bloggers claimed that elements of the Chechen special group Aida, the 30th motorized rifle regiment, the 11th airborne brigade, the assault unit Veteran (Volunteer Corps of Russia), and the 177th Marine Infantry Regiment (Caspian Flotilla) were attacking near the settlement.
Both Russian and Ukrainian sources reported that Russian troops attempted to secretly attack Ukrainian positions in Sudzha through an underground gas pipeline but made conflicting statements about the outcome of this attack.
A Russian blogger stated that the Russian army was attacking the central part of Sudzha and the city's industrial zone. Russian military bloggers confirmed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding positions in Sudzha and that some Ukrainian units are retreating to the city from positions located to the north of it.
Russians complicate Ukrainian Armed Forces' logistics
Meanwhile, Russian troops are destroying bridges in the Kursk region and along the international border. Likely, the Russians are attempting to prevent Ukrainian forces from exiting the Kursk region into Ukraine.
Russian bloggers claim that Russian troops have destroyed a bridge north of Sudzha on the N-07 Sumy-Sudzha highway (known in Russia as the P-200), and that Russian forces are trying to hinder Ukrainian troops from retreating towards Sudzha.
Another Russian blogger states that units of the Russian 177th Marine Infantry Regiment destroyed a bridge over the Psel River between the settlements of Myropillya (Sumy region) and Hornal (Kursk region) to disrupt the logistics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Russian bloggers report that Russian forces continue to slowly advance in the northern part of the Sumy region near the villages of Basivka and Novenke (both northeast of the city of Sumy), and that Russian shelling has blocked the N-07 highway.
According to an initial assessment by ISW, Russian forces intend to block the N-07 highway to complicate Ukrainian logistics in the Kursk region and support Russian efforts to encircle the Ukrainian salient from the south.
US intelligence sharing cessation
Recently, the United States halted the exchange of intelligence data with Ukraine, including information used for strikes on Russian territory. This decision was made by the administration of Donald Trump following an emotional argument in the White House with President Volodymyr Zelensky on February 28. Later, the British newspaper The Telegraph reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are allegedly at risk of encirclement in the Kursk region due to the cessation of U.S. intelligence sharing.
At the same time, the situation for Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region is difficult but not catastrophic. The military command is planning counteractions.
Ukraine's Ministry of Defense is seeking alternatives to the US for intelligence data.
The United Kingdom and France have volunteered to exchange intelligence with Ukraine, although the capabilities of their intelligence agencies are lower than those of the US.
