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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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Russian forces attempting to peel back Ukrainian control of parts of the western Russian Kursk region may be close to cutting off vital supply lines to Kyiv's troops across the border, according to new reports.
One of Russia's influential pro-Kremlin military bloggers—accounts often used to judge on the ground developments in lieu of official statements from Moscow—said Russian leader Vladimir Putin's troops had driven "a deep wedge" into Ukrainian defenses in Kursk, threatening supply routes and putting Ukrainian troops at risk of "operational encirclement."
Why It Matters
Kyiv's surprise incursion into Kursk, which borders Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, in August 2024 had given President Volodymyr Zelensky a potential bargaining chip in the U.S.-brokered peace negotiations getting underway. But this would be lost, if Russia succeeds in retaking Ukrainian-seized territory. Ukrainian officials have also said the push was crafted to pull some of Russia's attention from the relentless battles in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, rather than permanently capture territory.
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North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un—a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin—sent upward of 11,000 North Korean soldiers to Russia that were quickly deployed to Kursk. The Kremlin redirected elite troops to Kursk to battle the advancing Ukrainian forces. But Ukraine has still managed to retain its grip on a chunk of territory, including the town of Sudzha, around six miles from the Ukrainian border.
What To Know
Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had captured the Kursk villages of Orlovka and Pogrebki, both to the north of Sudzha.
Moscow said it had "disrupted logistics" supplying Ukraine's military in Kursk by establishing fire control over the road linking Sudzha and the Sumy settlement of Yunakivka, according to remarks reported by state news agency Tass on Wednesday.
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One pro-Kremlin military blogger said Russia had managed to approach "the route supplying the enemy units in the area of Malaya Loknya." Malaya Loknya is just south of Orlovka and Pogrebki.
Ukrainian troops risk "operational encirclement," the account wrote. This broadly means cutting off an enemy's freedom of movement or access to vital routes.
In a separate statement, pro-Kremlin Shot Telegram account, purportedly linked to Russia's security forces, said there was roughly 3.5 kilometers of distance remaining before "up to 4 thousand Ukrainian military personnel may be surrounded."
The account claimed Russian units "now control the road" from Sudzha to Yunakivka, with Russian paratroopers "actively advancing." It then shared footage it said showed the highway littered with "destroyed enemy equipment," including U.S.-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Humvees.
The footage has been widely shared by other Russian accounts, several of which called the highway a "road of death." Newsweek could not independently the location of the clip, nor when it was filmed.
Reports in recent days suggested Russia had increased its attacks on Ukraine's logistics lines in Kursk. Ukrainian forces previously withdrew from fighting in the Donetsk city of Avdiivka, which Russia has controlled since last February, to avoid encirclement after heavy attacks on supply lines.
The U.S.-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed at the start of February that Russia had managed to retake at least 57 percent of the Ukrainian-held land in Kursk, roughly equivalent to 665 square kilometers (257 square miles).
But a senior Russian military commander told state media last week that Russia had regained more than 800 square kilometers (309 square miles) of territory in Kursk, or 64 percent of the area formerly under Kyiv's control.
Who Said What
The pro-Kremlin Shot Telegram channel said on Thursday that "there are about 1,000 units of Western equipment in the Sudzha area, which are being actively destroyed by the Russian Armed Forces."
Ukraine's military said on Thursday that its forces had "repelled" 18 attacks in Kursk in the past day.
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen how quickly Russia will be able to dislodge Ukraine from its positions in Kursk, and how it will impact U.S.-led ceasefire talks now in progress.
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