Fox News: Ukraine’s defense minister described reports of troops encircled in Kursk as Russian propaganda

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov refuted claims that thousands of Ukrainian military personnel are encircled in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, as was stated by US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

This comes after Donald Trump claimed on 13 March via his Truth Social platform that thousands of Ukrainian troops were “completely surrounded” and asked Putin to “pardon them.” In response to Trump’s call, Putin suggested Ukrainian troops in the Kursk Oblast should surrender and referred to them as “terrorists” during his visit to the area.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that no such encirclement is currently taking place. He also accused Putin of using these claims to stall discussions on the US-Ukrainian 30-day ceasefire proposal.

“To preserve some availability of forces and troops, we have redeployed to more favorable defense lines, but at this stage, no Defense Forces unit is encircled,” Umerov stated in the interview with Fox News.

The defense minister explained that Ukrainian forces continue to conduct defensive operations while maintaining control over “a significant number of kilometers” of Russian territory.

He characterized the encirclement claims as propaganda, noting that similar false information had circulated during last year’s BRICS summit.

“We will continue our active defense with some offensive actions on the flanks of enemy groups to prevent their invasion of our territory,” Umerov added.

​Earlier, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported it found no geolocated evidence supporting claims that Russian forces have surrounded significant numbers of Ukrainian military personnel in the region. ISW analysts suggest Putin used Trump’s statement to divert attention from the Kremlin’s rejection of a US-Ukrainian ceasefire proposal.

As of 16 March, Ukrainian defense forces withdrew from the city of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk Oblast to occupy more advantageous positions near Ukraine’s eastern border. Despite the withdrawal, Ukrainian forces continue to maintain a presence in other parts of Russia’s Kursk Oblast, effectively holding off constant assaults by Russian and North Korean troops.

Military experts, such as Oleksii Hetman, a veteran of the Russo-Ukrainian war, warned that Russia is repositioning airborne, air assault, and naval infantry units along the Ukrainian border, indicating potential offensive operations aimed at entering Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast from the north. Additionally, Russian forces are actively deploying sabotage and reconnaissance groups in Sumy Oblast to assess Ukrainian defenses.