Russian military bloggers and Ukrainian officials continue to deny Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unsubstantiated claim that Russian forces have encircled a significant number of Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast, the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on 15 March.
According to ISW, Russian military bloggers published maps on 14 and 15 March showing Russian and Ukrainian positions in Kursk Oblast that do not indicate any encirclement of Ukrainian forces. Two Russian bloggers explicitly denied Putin’s claim about encircling a significant number of Ukrainian forces in the area on 13 and 14 March.
One military blogger characterized Putin’s claims as a narrative intended to influence US President Donald Trump ahead of peace negotiations, ISW noted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russian forces are unsuccessfully attempting to encircle Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast and that no encirclement currently exists. Zelenskyy added that Putin is attempting to delay discussion of the US-Ukrainian 30-day ceasefire proposal by spreading these claims.
Independent Ukrainian sources also denied Putin’s claims about Russian encirclements of Ukrainian forces and noted that Ukrainian forces maintain the ability to maneuver from their remaining positions in Kursk Oblast despite a difficult tactical situation, according to the ISW report.
“ISW has still not observed any Russian milblogger claims or geolocated footage suggesting that Russian forces have encircled Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast. Ukrainian forces appear to maintain egress routes across the international border from their positions in Kursk Oblast as of this publication,” the think tank wrote.
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