Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that the military had regained full control of the town of Sudzha, the main population center in the part of the Kursk region of Russia that Ukrainian troops had captured last summer.
Ukrainian officials have not confirmed a retreat from the town, where the previous night Kyiv’s military had reported fierce fighting. If confirmed, that would leave only small pockets of Russian land along the border under Ukrainian control — and could deny Kyiv a key point of leverage in any cease-fire negotiations as U.S. officials head to Moscow for talks.
Ukraine’s top military commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, said on Wednesday night that Ukrainian troops would “hold the line in the Kursk region for as long as it remains reasonable and necessary.”
Parts of the Kursk region have been under Ukrainian control since August, when Ukraine’s military mounted a surprise cross-border offensive and quickly captured approximately 500 square miles of land, including the town of Sudzha.
At the time, the move was seen as an attempt to stretch Russian forces thin across multiple fronts, especially as Ukrainian forces were steadily losing ground elsewhere on their own territory. Holding Russian territory was also seen as a potential bargaining chip for Ukraine in any eventual cease-fire talks.
