Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov denied reports claiming that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers were encircled in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, a narrative pushed by both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Umerov clarified that Ukrainian Defense Forces had simply moved to “more favorable defense lines” and that such encirclement claims were baseless.
On 13 March, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, alleging that thousands of Ukrainian troops were "completely surrounded" and urged Putin to “pardon them.” Putin, responding to Trump’s statement, suggested that Ukrainian forces in the region should surrender, referring to them as "terrorists" during his visit to the area.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also dismissed these encirclement claims, asserting that no such situation existed. He further accused Putin of using these reports as a tactic to delay discussions about a potential US-Ukrainian 30-day ceasefire proposal.
Umerov emphasized that Ukrainian forces were continuing to conduct defensive operations while holding control over substantial parts of Russian territory. He described the encirclement claims as propaganda, recalling that similar false reports had emerged during last year’s BRICS summit.
“We will maintain our active defense, including offensive actions on the flanks of enemy forces to prevent their invasion of our territory,” Umerov added.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that no geolocated evidence supported claims of Russian forces surrounding significant Ukrainian military units in the area. ISW analysts speculated that Putin might have used Trump’s statement to distract from the Kremlin’s rejection of the US-Ukrainian ceasefire proposal.
As of 16 March, Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, repositioning to more advantageous locations near Ukraine’s eastern border. Despite this, Ukrainian troops maintain a presence in other parts of the Kursk Oblast, continuing to fend off constant assaults from Russian and North Korean forces.
Military experts, including Oleksii Hetman, a veteran of the Russo-Ukrainian war, warned that Russia is repositioning airborne, air assault, and naval infantry units along the Ukrainian border, signaling the possibility of offensive operations aimed at entering Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast from the north. Additionally, Russian forces are deploying sabotage and reconnaissance groups to assess Ukrainian defenses in Sumy Oblast.
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