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US Intelligence Refutes Claims of Ukrainian Encirclement in Russia’s Kursk Region, Reuters Reports
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![Amira_barkhush]( "Amira Barkhush")
Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region have recently lost some positions but are not encircled by Russian troops, contrary to recent claims in the media.
This was reported by Reuters on March 20, citing US and European officials familiar with intelligence assessments.
According to the report, US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, shared this assessment with the White House over the past week, a US official and another person familiar with the matter said.
US and European intelligence assessments indicate that while Ukrainian troops have come under heavy pressure from Russian forces, they are not fully encircled.
On March 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed claims of Ukrainian troops being encircled, calling them one of Putin’s lies.
“There is no encirclement of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region,” Zelenskyy said.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated on March 14 that Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from the city of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region to take up more strategically advantageous positions along the eastern border of Ukraine.
At the same time, the General Staff denied claims that Ukrainian units were encircled in Russia’s Kursk region.
In the summer of 2024, Zelenskyy revealed that Ukrainian Defense Forces launched the Kursk incursion as a preemptive measure in order to disrupt Russian plans to capture Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Sumy regions.
