The situation in the Kursk Oblast has worsened in recent days. However, the Ukrainian command currently has no plans to withdraw troops from the area, RBC-Ukraine reports, citing its own sources.
The battle for control over the Kursk front has reached a critical juncture as Russian forces intensify their offensive operations, significantly limiting Ukraine’s strategic options, military analysts report. Russian troops have advanced further into the region, making key territorial gains while leveraging overwhelming drone warfare to disrupt Ukrainian logistics and supply chains.
The situation on the Kursk bridgehead began to deteriorate after Russian forces advanced northwest of Sudzha, moving from the Sverdlovka area toward the Ukrainian border. They aim to break through to Basivka and further toward Yunakivka villages in Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast. Another concerning development was a joint assault by Russian and North Korean troops near Kurylivka, south of Sudzha, reaching the Ukrainian border.
On 8 March, Reuters reported that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in Russia’s Kursk Oblast were nearly encircled by Russian forces.
The report said that this situation arose after the US suspended intelligence sharing with Kyiv. The decision increases the likelihood that Ukrainian forces may be forced to retreat back to Ukraine or risk being captured or killed.
However, informed sources contradict this, stating that measures are being taken to stabilize the positions and that counteractions are being planned.
Intelligence cutoff and Russian drone warfare push thousands of Ukrainian defenders to brink of encirclement in Kursk Oblast
According to reports, Russia’s goal is to cut the Sudzha–Sumy road, which would create an operational encirclement of Ukrainian troops.
Currently, the width of Ukraine’s bridgehead in Kursk Oblast has narrowed to 11 km. Defending the area is complicated by dense forests and massive Moscow troops’ use of fiber-optic-controlled drones.
Nevertheless, sources emphasize that the situation is not yet catastrophic, and Ukrainian troops are not surrounded at this time.
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