Ukrainian forces control approximately 100 square kilometers in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, while Russian military attempts to push them out by advancing from Sumy Oblast through Basovka and the Yunakivka-Sudzha checkpoint, RBC-Ukraine reports.
The Ukrainian operation in Kursk began on 6 August 2024, with forces initially capturing around 1,000 square kilometers. While US President Donald Trump claimed that Russian troops encircled thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk, both Ukrainian officials and Western intelligence agencies have refuted this, stating that the troops are not surrounded despite recent retreats in some areas.
“From the northwest, the Russians crossed the border and captured Noven’ke and areas further south, initiating an operational encirclement plan. However, they have not been successful. Therefore, the claims of 10,000 encircled troops are nothing more than a spectacle being orchestrated by Putin,” said Igor Romanenko, former deputy head of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The situation deteriorated significantly a month ago when Russian forces began establishing control over key logistics roads in bordering Sumy oblast. Russians captured Sverdlivka and advanced into Noven’ke on Ukrainian territory, gaining fire control over the crucial Sudzha-Sumy road.
“By entering Sverdlivka, the aggressor established physical control over the road leading to Sudzha,” putting Ukrainian units in the northern Kursk bridgehead under threat, according to RBC-Ukraine.
Simultaneously, Russian forces advanced toward the Ukrainian-Russian border near Kurilivka, controlling another road south from Sumy. Facing logistics challenges, the Ukrainian command began a partial withdrawal of troops.
In Kursk, the Ukrainian military has established a buffer zone protecting Sumy Oblast.
“Between Sudzha and Sumy, there is a road about 40 kilometers long. If there had truly been a breakthrough, the Russians would have advanced along it quite quickly. Currently, this small buffer zone remains intact,” defense expert Pavlo Narozhnyi explained.
On 8 March, Russians launched an offensive from the north but essentially advanced behind retreating Ukrainian troops. While many analysts believed Ukraine planned to withdraw from Kursk completely, the actual decision was to reduce the bridgehead while maintaining a buffer zone on Russian territory.
For Putin, reclaiming Kursk represents a victory he’s likely to highlight during the 9 May Victory Day parade. RBC-Ukraine believes Moscow will have to celebrate the “heroic liberation” of Kursk rather than the capture of four Ukrainian regions that were added to Russia’s constitution in their entirety despite being only partly occupied.
Read more:
- After Kursk withdrawal, Ukraine launches surprise offensive in Russia’s Belgorod
- Ukraine could have built anti-Putin Russia in Kursk but didn’t. That was a mistake
- Kursk: Ukraine’s success or failure? Western defense experts and a soldier speak out
