How Ukraine’s offensive in Russia’s Kursk region unraveled

Ukrainian forces have pulled almost entirely out of the Kursk region of Russia, ending an offensive that had stunned the Kremlin over the summer with its speed and audacity.

Ukrainian soldiers at the front described a retreat that was organized in places and chaotic in others, as Russian forces stormed through their lines and forced them back to a sliver of land along the border.

At the height of the offensive, Ukrainian forces controlled some 500 square miles of Russian territory. By Sunday, they were clinging to barely 30 square miles along the Russia-Ukraine border, according to Pasi Paroinen, a military analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group.

“The end of the battle is coming,” Paroinen said.

How much Russian territory Ukraine still controls in Kursk could not be independently confirmed, and soldiers reported fierce fighting was ongoing. But the fighting near the border is now less about holding Russian land, Ukrainian soldiers said, and more about trying to prevent Russian forces from pouring into the Sumy region of Ukraine and opening a new front in the war.

The soldiers said they are trying to set up strong defensive positions along ridgelines on the Russian side of the border.

“We continue to hold positions on the Kursk front,” said a platoon commander who asked to be identified by only his call sign, Boroda. “The only difference is that our positions have shifted significantly closer to the border.”

Andrii, a Ukrainian intelligence officer fighting in Kursk, put it more bluntly: “The Kursk operation is essentially over,” he said. “Now we need to stabilize the situation.”

While Ukrainian forces have managed to stall Russia’s advance in eastern Ukraine, the turn in Kursk comes as the Trump administration is pushing for a quick truce.

The reversal of Ukraine’s fortunes in Kursk, culminating with a retreat that began in earnest earlier this month, did not come down to any one factor.

Russian forces pounded Ukraine’s supply lines and began to cut off escape routes. North Korean troops brought in by Moscow improved their combat capabilities. And at a crucial moment, U.S. support – including intelligence sharing – was put on hold.

While Ukraine had hoped to use its control over Russian land as leverage in any negotiation to end the war, Putin now appears to be using the Ukrainian retreat to try and strengthen his hand in talks with the Trump administration about pausing the hostilities.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.