Losing Kursk is a big blow to Zelensky

After eight months of fighting on Russian soil, Ukrainian troops are pulling back from the Kursk region. This morning, Russian forces raised their flag over Sudzha and are now closing in on the last 50 square miles of Ukrainian holdouts. The retreat couldn’t come at a worse time for Kyiv – just as a ceasefire and potential peace deal are on the table. Zelensky had hoped to trade the Kursk salient for Ukrainian land in negotiations. Now, that leverage is almost gone.

Russian troops, reinforced by North Koreans, have been steadily clawing back the 500 square miles of Russian territory seized by Ukraine last August. But the real breakthrough came in the past two weeks, as Russian forces gained fire control over the only paved road linking Sudzha to Ukraine’s Sumy region, choking off Ukrainian logistics and burning down supply convoys with drone strikes. 

While Russians pressed the flanks, storming Ukrainian positions on motorcycles, quad bikes and even golf carts – driving straight over minefields – about a hundred soldiers spent two days crawling through an empty gas pipeline to slip behind Ukrainian lines near Sudzha.