Data from the OSINT project DeepState indicates that Ukrainian military forces have left the city. Z channels published drone footage from Sovetskaya Square in the city of Sudzha in the Kursk region in front of the city administration.
The information about the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the Kursk region, which they held for more than seven months, was also confirmed by military analyst Yan Matveev*, founder of Conflict Intelligence Team** (CIT) Ruslan Leviev*, and Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov. «It is obvious — today the region will be completely liberated. It is also clear that the Ukrainians preserved their main forces and did not allow a rout on the Kursk bridgehead», — Matveev believes, noting that the Russian army's offensive «occurred where the Armed Forces of Ukraine retreated».
Earlier, Roman Kostenko, secretary of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine's committee on national security, defense, and intelligence, stated that Russian troops are in «a certain part of the city, where fighting is ongoing».
Vladimir Zelensky at a briefing stated that at present, the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region are fulfilling the tasks assigned to them. «Our troops in the Kursk region are performing their task. The Russians are trying to exert maximum pressure on our troops. The military command is doing what it must do — preserving the maximum number of our warriors' lives», — he emphasized.
He also reported that Russia «is raising the stakes in the Kursk direction» in the form of various intimidations, as this is a «clear methodology» of Russia's actions in any form of diplomacy. He also did not rule out new statements about the use of nuclear weapons by Russia.
The President of Ukraine added that people should not be in an information vacuum, and Ukrainian intelligence and the military need to respond as quickly as possible and refute certain information about threats.
«We must prepare for strong informational pressure. Believe me: personally, we have been in various formats of such situations for an appropriate amount of time. We understand what is happening», — Zelensky stated.
Ukrainian troops entered the territory of the Kursk region on August 6, and by August 14 they captured Sudzha. The Ukrainian authorities believed that this would strengthen their position during potential negotiations. In early February, Zelensky said he was ready to «exchange one territory for another».
* Recognized in Russia as «foreign agents».
** Recognized in Russia as an «undesirable» organization.