The Deadly End of the Kursk Flubb

Russian forces have reclaimed some Ukrainian-held territory in the Kursk Region, threatening a potential bargaining chip that Kyiv could take into potential peace talks with Moscow.

The area under Ukrainian control in Kursk has shrunk by nearly one-fifth over less than three weeks, based on the data from DeepState open-source map service.

What’s more, Russian forces are close to splitting Ukraine’s military presence in the region, according to the map service.

Heavy fighting was underway along the border in the area, said Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Propaganda, in a Telegram post on Friday.

He said Russian troops were trying to break Ukrainian lines and capture the road between the border and Sudzha, a regional town that fell to Kyiv last August.

Ukrainian forces invaded Kursk Region last year, seizing control of a key gas pipeline hub and bringing about the first occupation of Russian lands by a foreign military since World War II.

Moscow’s military couldn’t dislodge them for more than seven months, despite deploying additional soldiers from North Korea.

That may be about to change as Russian forces have broken through some Ukrainian defenses near Sudzha, Ukrainian newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda reported on Friday, citing an unnamed person in a Ukrainian unit deployed in the area.

Kyiv’s forces were trying to prevent Russian troops from cutting off their supply lines to Ukraine, but in vain, the person said.

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