Kyiv says Ukrainian troops ‘regrouped’ in Kursk Oblast, denies encirclement

Ukraine's Normal Employees on March 14 denied claims that Ukrainian troops had been encircled in Kursk Oblast amid Russia's ongoing offensive within the area.

The Normal Employees stated that Russia had been reporting an alleged encirclement of Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast "for political functions and to place strain on Ukraine and its companions."

The assertion got here after U.S. President Donald Trump stated that his administration held "productive discussions" with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 13, throughout which he urged him to "spare" surrounded Ukrainian troops.

"At this very second, hundreds of Ukrainian troops are fully surrounded by the Russian army, and in a really unhealthy and weak place," Trump wrote, with out offering any proof.

Talking on March 13 a few U.S.-backed 30-day ceasefire, Putin claimed that the ceasfire can be helpful to Kyiv given the state of affairs in Kursk Oblast. He didn’t rule out a "full bodily blockade" of Ukrainian troops.

"The models have regrouped, moved to extra favorable protection strains and are finishing their assigned duties in Kursk Oblast," the Normal Employees stated. "There is no such thing as a risk of encirclement of our models."

"Our troopers are repelling the enemy's offensive and inflicting efficient fireplace injury from all sorts of weapons."

Moscow claimed on March 12 to have retaken over 86% of seized territories within the area, together with a key city of Sudzha, captured by Ukrainian troops at the beginning of the Kursk incursion in August 2024.

Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi acknowledged on March 12 the "troublesome state of affairs" within the area however stated that Ukraine will maintain the defenses "so long as cheap and obligatory."

Ukraine launched the cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024, initially seizing round 1,300 sq. kilometers (500 sq. miles) of Russian territory. Since then, Russian forces, strengthened by North Korean troops, have steadily pushed again towards Ukrainian forces.

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