Ukrainian Armed Forces remain in Kursk: Is there a threat of encirclement?
Photo: Ukrainian Armed Forces control 100 sq km in Russian Kursk (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukrainian forces currently control about 100 square kilometers in Russia's Kursk region. The Russian military aims to push Ukrainian troops out by attacking from behind, advancing from the Sumy region through Basivka and the Yunakivka-Sudzha checkpoint.
Experts suggest that there is no truth to claims that Ukrainian forces are fully surrounded.
“In the northwest, Russian forces crossed the border, captured Novenke and areas further south, and are attempting operational encirclement. But they are failing, so talk of 10,000 Ukrainian troops being surrounded is merely a staged performance orchestrated by Putin and amplified by Trump," said former Deputy Chief of the Ukrainian General Staff Ihor Romanenko in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.
For Vladimir Putin, retaking the Kursk region would be one of the few victories he may try to sell to the public soon. Experts believe that the May 9 Kremlin parade will be used to summarize the war's results, which, in reality, are far from what was initially expected.
Ironically, Moscow will have to report a "heroic liberation" of Kursk, instead of celebrating the annexation of four Ukrainian regions that were preemptively added to their constitution.
However, the purpose of the Kursk operation in the Ukrainian context remains ambiguous. On one hand, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have created and continue to maintain a buffer zone that protects the Sumy region from invasion, says military expert Pavlo Narozhnyi.
"The road between Sudzha and Sumy is about 40 km long. If there had truly been a breakthrough, the Russians would have advanced quickly along it. Yes, the terrain is forested with rivers, making it difficult to stop them. But our task was to prevent them from reaching the Sudzha-Sumy route, and so far, we have succeeded,” Narozhnyi told RBC-Ukraine.
The Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region began on August 6, 2024. At that time, Ukrainian troops quickly occupied around 1,000 square kilometers. In recent days, they have been forced to retreat from parts of the Kursk region.
CIA data contradicts the synchronized statements made by US President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin about the encirclement of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region.
