Ukrainian troops operating in Russia’s Kursk Oblast continue in their tasks despite intense Russian pressure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a briefing on March 12.
“The military command is doing what it should do, preserving the maximum of lives of our soldiers," Zelensky said, urging a "sober" assessment of the battlefield situation rather than reacting to Russian information warfare.
His remarks come as multiple Ukrainian and Russian sources claimed that Russian troops had entered Sudzha, a key Ukrainian-held stronghold in the Russian border region of Kursk.
Russian news agency TASS published purported drone footage showing that Russian troops had entered the town center and raised a Russian flag. The Ukrainian military has not publicly commented on the claims.
Roman Kostenko, secretary of the parliamentary defense committee, acknowledged that the situation in Kursk Oblast is "complicated" but said Ukrainian forces are working to stabilize the front line.
"I talked to the soldiers in the morning; they do not confirm our complete withdrawal from Sudzha... I have no information that our troops have completely left Sudzha as of two hours ago," Kostenko said at a press briefing.
Martin Fornusek
Sudzha is located less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Ukrainian border and 85 kilometers (53 miles) from the regional capital, Kursk.
Russia launched a renewed offensive in Kursk Oblast last week and reportedly made rapid advances. The developments coincided with the U.S. instituting a temporary pause on all military and intelligence support for Ukraine.
Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on March 10 that there is no immediate threat of encirclement as Ukrainian forces are repositioning to "favorable defense lines."
Ukraine launched the cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024, initially seizing around 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory. Since then, Russian forces, reinforced by North Korean troops, have steadily pushed back against Ukrainian forces.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
