US Officials Assess Kiev May Lose Control of Territory in Kursk in Months

Ukrainian troops might be able to control the territory in the Kursk Region only until spring, if faced with a focused effort by Russia, which could possibly take place as early as next month, to drive them out, the sources said.

One of the officials suggested that Kiev’s plans for the Kursk incursion have always been about shock value and reducing the number of Russian troops, thus a retreat could still be presented as a success. Meanwhile, two officials expressed hope that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would bring the Ukrainian forces out of Russia soon in order to avoid sustaining significant casualties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in June that Russia would immediately cease fire and begin negotiations with Ukraine after Kiev withdrew troops from Russia’s new regions and officially abandoned plans to join NATO. After Ukrainian troops attacked Russia’s Kursk Region in August, Putin called the prospect of negotiations with Kiev impossible. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that Moscow’s peace proposals had not been voided, but Russia would not engage with Ukraine at this point.