Russian forces have regained control of three more settlements in the western Kursk region, the Defence Ministry announced on Sunday, as part of an operation to push out Ukrainian troops who have held parts of the territory since a cross-border incursion seven months ago.
According to the ministry’s statement on Telegram, Russian troops now control Malaya Lokhnya, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, and Kositsa—three settlements located north of the town of Sudzha. “The Russian Federation’s armed forces are continuing to rout groups of the Ukrainian army on the territory of Kursk region,” the statement read.
Reports from Russian military bloggers suggested that special forces advanced for miles through a gas pipeline near Sudzha in an attempt to catch Ukrainian troops off guard. One pro-Russian blogger, Yuri Podolyaka, claimed that Russian special forces moved nearly 16 km (10 miles) inside the 1.5-metre-wide pipeline, spending days within it before launching an attack from the rear.
The operation appears to be part of a broader effort to cut off thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in the region ahead of upcoming talks between Ukraine and the United States on a possible peace deal. Kyiv seized roughly 1,300 square km (500 square miles) of the Kursk region in August, arguing that the move was aimed at gaining leverage in future negotiations and forcing Russia to divert forces from eastern Ukraine.
Recent days have seen rapid Russian advances, with open-source maps on Friday indicating that Ukrainian troops in Kursk were nearly surrounded. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev described the situation as a “smoking cauldron” on Telegram, adding, “The offensive continues.”
Pro-Russian war blogger Two Majors reported that a major battle for Sudzha was underway, with Russian troops using the gas pipeline route to launch a surprise attack on Ukrainian forces in the area.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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