Ukrainian troops who stormed into Russia’s Kursk region last summer are now“Almost entirely surrounded by Russian troops,” according to Reuters, citing an open-source map. Maps show a sharp deterioration in the fighting in Kursk over the past three days, with the Ukrainian army split in two and the main supply routes at risk of being cut off. Analysts say the Ukrainians in Kursk face a tough choice — retreat or be captured and killed. The manner in which the Russian army carried out the attack was even more shocking. Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Komsomolskaya on the 9th revealed some details: hundreds of Russian special forces had been lurking in a disused natural gas pipeline for 15 kilometers, waiting for the opportunity to attack, finally on the 8th launched a surprise attack from the Ukrainian rear. Many people were poisoned and some died because methane was still trapped in the pipes. Russia said the“Pipeline raid” operation was a success.
“Russian troops ambush gas pipeline.”
Reuters also reported on the 9th the Russian military action. The article quoted Russian military blogger Yuri Podoriaka as saying that the special forces had been hidden inside a natural gas pipeline for miles, and that some of them had been there for days, then appeared near Sudzha and attacked Ukrainian troops from the rear. Russian media showed pictures of its special forces wearing gas masks and lamps as they walked along the inside of what looked like large pipes.
Ukraine suspended the urengoy-Uzhhorod pipeline, which had carried Russian gas to Europe, on January 1. According to Reuters, the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement on the 8th that Russian soldiers attacked through the gas pipeline and captured a position, but that Ukrainian airborne commandos quickly spotted them, it responded with rocket, artillery and drone attacks that destroyed Russian troops. Reuters was unable to verify the claims because of restrictions on the battlefield, the report said.
This is a picture released by the Russian Defense Ministry. Russian troops retake a village in northern Sudzha from Ukrainian forces in the Okursk region on March 3. (IC photo)
Multiple sources corroborate the plight of the Ukrainians in Kursk. Three-quarters of the Ukrainian army in Russia is now completely surrounded, according to an open-source map from deep government, a leading Ukrainian military blogger. The units are connected to the remaining Ukrainian units near the border by a land corridor about 1km long and less than 500m wide at its narrowest point, but Russian troops are trying to cut it off. Parsi paroinin, a military analyst with Finland’s Blackbird Group, told Reuters, “The situation for [ Kursk’s ] Ukrainian forces is very bad and time is running out before they are surrounded or forced to withdraw, which means taking the risk that the army will be constantly under threat from Russian drones and artillery,” he said.
“The New York Times” reported from Ukraine on the 8th, Ukrainian soldiers said the Russian troops in the fierce artillery and bombing cover, has overwhelmed the important positions in Ukraine. “It’s true, we couldn’t stop them, they swept us out,” Oleksy, the commander of Ukrainian communications forces fighting in the area, said in a telephone interview
“The view” published on the 8th, entitled“Russian liberation of the Kursk region of the final action is about to come” report. Russian military expert Dan Dejin said Ukrainian troops in the Sudzha region had been surrounded.
Ukraine may lose its“Only bargaining chip”
Ukrainian troops seized about 1,300 square kilometers of Russia’s Kursk region after an offensive last August, AFP reported. At present, about two-thirds of the land has been retaken by the Russian army, Ukrainian troops control about 400 square kilometers of land. Some estimates put the number of Ukrainian troops in Kursk at around 10,000, while others put it in the thousands. According to the latest figures from the Russian Defence Ministry, a total of 65,400 Ukrainian military personnel, 386 tanks and 296 infantry fighting vehicles were lost in the fighting in the direction of Kursk.
Many in the Western media feared that the Kursk fiasco would be a major blow. The New York Times said it would be a major setback for Kiev if Ukrainian forces were besieged or forced to withdraw. The incursion into Kursk was a symbolic move to bolster Ukrainian military morale and embarrass Russia, and the seizure of Russian territory provided Ukraine with an important bargaining chip in peace talks. Leaving Kursk would weaken the country’s negotiating position at a time when Donald Trump is trying to ram through settlement talks.
RIA Novosti quoted Russian analyst Poletayev as saying that the Ukrainian troops in Kursk, from the beginning with the purpose of media propaganda, and sent the most capable combat troops. Now Kursk’s Ukrainian forces are under siege, which will turn Kiev’s only trump card in negotiations with Moscow into a bad one against it.
(CNN) — the CNN’s presence in the Kursk region has deteriorated sharply and the Russian advance threatens the country’s“Only territorial bargaining chip”, it said Wednesday. Russian defense ministry said the same day, its troops occupied 4 settlements in a few days. Reported that the face of Russia’s victory, some Ukrainian bloggers believe that the invasion of Kursk may have exhausted its strategic value. “I never thought I’d say this, but maybe it’s time to call it quits in Kursk,” said one blogger.
“Don’t rule out signing an agreement in Saudi Arabia”
Many media outlets mentioned that the change in the war situation in Kursk came after President Donald Trump Donald Trump ordered the suspension of military aid to the Ukrainians after an argument between American and Ukrainian President Zelenskiy at the White House at the end of February, including intelligence sharing. Since then, Ukraine has been working hard to repair relations with the United States. Despite Zelenskiy’s efforts to bridge their differences, Donald Trump and US officials were harsh and resorted to the last-ditch suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing, according to Radio International. Reported that the United States“Severance of intelligence” to enter the Kursk Oblast of the Ukrainian military at risk.
Against this backdrop, senior U. S. and Ukrainian officials will hold talks in Saudi Arabia on the 11th. According to the Associated Press, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio, White House National Security Assistant Waltz, and Middle East Special Envoy Whitkoff will attend, podolyak, adviser to the Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine, led the Ukrainian delegation. Zelenskiy said he would begin a visit to the kingdom on October 10 and planned to hold talks with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, but he would not attend talks with a US delegation.
Ukrainian representatives plan to discuss a mining deal between the two countries, military aid and the form of dialogue with Russia with the U.S. delegation, Ukraine said. Ukraine is still ready to reach a mineral agreement with the United States, does not rule out the possibility of signing this document in Saudi Arabia.