Ukraine's Defense Minister denied Russian claims of Ukrainian forces' encirclement in Kursk

The host asked Ukraine's Defense Minister about the situation in the Kursk region and whether it could become a topic of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

Umerov stated that the Defense Forces continue their defensive operations and control a significant portion of enemy territory. He explained that to conserve forces, the command had conducted a planned repositioning of troops to more advantageous defensive positions.

"At this stage, no unit of the Defense Forces is encircled, and statements about thousands of Ukrainian servicemen that are encircled are not correct. We had a similar situation that occurred last fall, during the BRICKS summit, there was some, let`s say, alleged propaganda, of some Ukrainian servicemen encircled, but the information was not confirmed. So, this is the continuation of propaganda," stated Umerov.

The Minister also added that the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue active defensive operations with offensive actions on the enemy's flanks to prevent any further invasion into Ukrainian territory.

Kursk region issue

In August 2024, the Ukrainian Defense Forces crossed the state border in the Sumy region and began taking control of settlements in the Kursk region. The operation was a raid aimed at diverting enemy forces from the east and south, as well as preventing a breakthrough into Sumy region.

For more than six months, Russians pushed Ukrainian forces out of most of the settlements in the Kursk region. In early March, they attempted to cut off the road from Sudzha to Sumy, aiming to encircle Ukrainian troops.

Russians reported the encirclement of Ukrainian units in the region, but the General Staff denied this information.

The absence of encirclement was confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Meanwhile, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) stated that Ukrainian forces lost control of the city of Sudzha.