Ukraine denies reports of troops encirclement in Kursk region

He said this in an interview on Fox News.

“Our defense forces, we continue to conduct defensive actions, and we are keeping a significant number of kilometers of the enemy territory under control.  In order to preserve some availability of the forces and troops, we have conducted some planned redeployment to more favorable defense lines. But, at this stage, no unit of the defense forces is encircled, and statements about thousands of Ukrainian servicemen that are encircled are not correct,” said Umerov.

The Defense Minister also mentioned that at the BRICS summit in the fall of 2024, information was circulated about allegedly some Ukrainian soldiers being encircled, but this was not confirmed.

“This is the continuation of propaganda. But we will continue our active defense operations with some offensive actions  against the flanks of the enemy task forces to prevent its invasion of our territory,” he added.

Frontline situation in Kursk region

The OSINT project DeepState reported that the Russian army made slight advances on the Kursk front, particularly near Mirny and Zozulevka. Additionally, Russian forces are reinforcing positions in the eastern part of Sudzha.

On March 12, Forbes reported that Ukrainian troops were likely to leave the Kursk region amid the Russian offensive. In particular, this concerns the most combat-ready part of the brigades.

At the same time, Ukrainian MP Kostenko denied the information about the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Defense Forces from Sudzha. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also assured that the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to carry out their mission in Kursk.

On March 14, Ukraine's General Staff denied Russian claims of encirclement, calling them propaganda aimed at pressuring Ukraine and its international partners.

On March 14, Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian Armed Forces' operation in Russia's Kursk region had accomplished its task.

On March 15, DeepState reported that the Russian army fully regained control of Sudzha in the Kursk region and another settlement in the Sudzhansky district.