The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Thursday that their military forces have reclaimed full control of the town of Sudzha, a key population hub in the Kursk region of Russia that had been under control of Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian officials have not yet confirmed their withdrawal from the area, where intense fighting was reported the previous evening. Should this retreat be confirmed, it would mean that only scattered pockets of Russian territory along the border remain under Ukrainian control, potentially limiting Ukraine’s leverage in any future cease-fire negotiations. General Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s top military commander, stated that Ukrainian forces would maintain their positions in the Kursk region as long as necessary.
As of August, parts of the Kursk region have been under Ukrainian control after a surprise cross-border operation wherein they captured around 500 square miles of land, including the town of Sudzha. This move was seen as a strategy to thin Russian forces across various fronts and as a possible bargaining chip for future cease-fire talks. Russian forces, receiving support from North Korean soldiers, have been trying to regain this land, intensifying their efforts following the Trump administration’s decision to halt U.S. intelligence and military assistance to Ukraine.
With the Ukrainian military’s stance in Sudzha wavering, officials have indicated a willingness to pull back to more favorable positions. General Syrsky emphasized that the preservation of Ukrainian soldiers’ lives remains a top priority. Late on Wednesday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a command post near the front in Kursk, praising the military formations that have pushed back Ukrainian control and urged the troops to continue their efforts to reclaim all occupied territory.
Russia has ramped up its military activities in the region, with 334 artillery strikes and 29 air attacks reported overnight by the Ukrainian military’s general staff. Sudzha, which had a pre-invasion population of around 5,000, has reportedly seen significant destruction from Russian airstrikes, leading to a devastated landscape and minimal standing civilian structures. Russian state television broadcast images showing damaged schools, burned-out grocery stores, and mined streets in Sudzha. Despite Russian advances in the Kursk region, their progress in the Donbas region has come to a near standstill, with no significant territorial gains for either side in recent weeks.
Journalists Natalia Novosolova and Ivan Nechepurenko contributed to this report.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/world/europe/russia-sudzha-recapture-kursk-ukraine.html
