Russia boasts of big new advance in its Kursk region against Ukrainian troops
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Chief of the General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov (right) inspects troops involved in Russia-Ukraine conflict.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MOSCOW - Russia said on March 11 that its troops had retaken over 100 sq km of territory and 12 settlements in its Kursk region as part of an offensive to force the Ukrainian army to flee from western Russia.
The Russian advances threaten to encircle thousands of Ukrainian soldiers just as Ukraine holds talks with top US diplomats in Saudi Arabia on March 11.
“Units of the North group of forces liberated 12 settlements during the offensive... and more than 100 sq km of the territory of the Kursk region,” Russia’s Defence Ministry said.
The ministry listed the settlements as Agronom, Bogdanovka, Bondarevka, Dmitryukov, Zazulevka, Ivashkovsky, Kolmakov, Kubatkin, Martynovka, Mikhaylovka, Pravda, and Yuzhny.
Ukrainian troops seized at least 1,300 sq km of the Kursk region in August in what Kyiv said was an attempt to gain a bargaining chip in future negotiations and to force Russia to shift forces from eastern Ukraine.
It was the most serious attack on Russian territory since the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, and seen as a way for Ukraine to embarrass the Kremlin by taking a chunk of Russian land.
By mid-February, Russia had taken back at least 800 sq km of territory there. In recent days it launched a major paratrooper offensive from multiple directions that threatens to cut off Ukraine's supply lines and potential routes of withdrawal.
Ukraine’s top general said on March 10 that Ukrainian troops fighting in Kursk were not at risk of encirclement, despite a recent counteroffensive by Russian forces that has included North Korean troops.
General Oleksandr Syrskyi said that the situation was under control, but indicated that Ukrainian forces have been pulling back.
“The units are taking timely measures to manoeuvre to advantageous positions for defence,” he said.
Russian advances in Kursk and inside Ukraine, combined with Donald Trump’s upending of US policy on Ukraine and Russia, have raised fears among European leaders that Ukraine will lose the war and that Mr Trump is turning his back on Europe.
Russian special forces crept for miles through a gas pipeline near the town of Sudzha at the weekend in an attempt to surprise Ukrainian forces in Kursk.
Reuters could not independently confirm battlefield reports from either side due to reporting restrictions at the front. REUTERS
