The US intelligence agencies have assessed the situation with Ukrainian units in the Kursk region and shared their findings with the White House. The conclusion is that the Ukrainian Defense Forces are not surrounded by Russian troops, contrary to recent statements by the US President Donald Trump and Putin.
Reuters reports this, citing sources.
The US and European intelligence assessments show that the Ukrainian military is under significant pressure from Russian forces, but has not been encircled.
In his March 14 tweet, Trump wrote that he had asked Putin to save the lives of thousands of Ukrainians, who he said were “completely surrounded” and vulnerable. Putin said he would do so if they surrendered.
The American president repeated the statement about "encircled" Ukrainian units during a speech at Washingtonʼs Kennedy Center and an interview with Fox News this week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denied that Ukrainian troops were surrounded and stressed that Putin was lying about the real situation in Kursk. At the same time, Zelensky acknowledged that Ukrainians are in a difficult situation in this area and expect continued attacks from Russia.
What is happening in the Kursk region?
On the evening of March 19, at a briefing, Zelensky said that Russia plans to completely push out Ukrainian troops from the Kursk direction, and then strike in the direction of Sumy and move troops to Kharkiv, as well as Zaporizhzhia. However, at present, Ukraine does not see such opportunities in the Russian Federation in the Kharkiv or Zaporizhzhia directions. Currently, the enemy is accumulating troops in the Sumy direction.
Previously, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine denied claims about the alleged encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region. They added that the Defense Forces of Ukraine have regrouped, withdrawn to more advantageous defense lines, and are carrying out their assigned tasks in the Kursk region.
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