Ukrainian troops not encircled, withdraw to strategic positions in Kursk region, journalist reports
Ukrainian military journalist Yuriy Butusov has debunked claims that Ukrainian Armed Forces have been encircled in Russia's Kursk region.
Reports of a large encirclement in the area, allegedly mentioned by former U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, are false. On the contrary, the decision to withdraw forces from the bridgehead has allowed Ukraine to improve its position and avoid significant losses, as Butusov explains in his Facebook blog.
Butusov assures that no Ukrainian units have been cut off from the border in Kursk, and the decision to eliminate the Kursk bridgehead has substantially enhanced the Defense Forces' standing. "Our military forces have gained freedom of maneuver and shortened logistical routes. Our soldiers are holding a tactically advantageous defensive line — several heights along the state border on Russian territory. Holding these heights plays a crucial role in the defense of the border line," the military journalist wrote.
He also stated that there is currently no threat of a massive Russian breakthrough into the Sumy region or an assault on Sumy. Russian forces are only capable of small group incursions near the border.
On March 14, Trump unexpectedly claimed that thousands of Ukrainian troops had been encircled by Russian forces in the Kursk region. He mentioned requesting Putin to spare the “encircled” soldiers, repeating this story multiple times throughout the day. Putin soon echoed this claim, setting a March 17 deadline for the "encircled" units to surrender as a precondition for establishing a ceasefire.
However, there is no encirclement of Ukrainian forces in Kursk or other front areas, now or anticipated. The Ukrainian Armed Forces efficiently evacuated the Kursk bridgehead, which had lost its military significance.
This encirclement story has also been refuted by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and various military experts, including international ones.