Thousands of Ukrainian troops who stormed into Russia's Kursk region last summer in a shock incursion are nearly surrounded by Russian forces there, in a major blow to Kyiv, which hoped to use its presence there as leverage over Moscow in any peace talks.
Ukraine's situation in Kursk has deteriorated sharply in the last three days, open-source maps show, after Russian forces recaptured territory as part of a gathering counteroffensive that has nearly cut the Ukrainian force in two and separated the main group from its principal supply lines.
A Ukrainian soldier told The Telegraph that Ukraine is considering withdrawing from Kursk to avoid further losses.
“The fear of encirclement is real,” they added.
The Telegraph also reported that North Korean troops assisted greatly in cutting the Ukrainian troops off using drone warfare.
Currently, the only Ukrainian road into Sudzha – which would provide an escape route for Ukrainian soldiers from Kursk – is in range of Russian drones, according to maps from the Ukrainian military blog Deepstate.
US influence in Russian-Ukrainian war
The Russian advancements on the key highway came shortly after US President Donald Trump halted all intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
By denying Ukraine intelligence, experts believe the US has essentially allowed Russia to operate more freely, planning attacks without Ukrainian knowledge, The Telegraph reported.
Trump’s decision to halt intelligence sharing, as well as suspend military aid deliveries, came after his recent contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Additionally, the US has formally blocked all allies from sharing US intelligence with Ukraine, though two officials told The Financial Times that several countries were likely to continue passing on relevant intelligence to Kyiv.
Reuters contributed to this report.