Kursk Russia Conflict Intensifies Amid US Intel Cutoff
The situation in Kursk, Russia, remains volatile, with Russian forces making significant gains and Ukraine facing challenges due to the US intelligence cutoff. As the conflict continues, international leaders are working towards a peaceful resolution, with the US and Ukraine agreeing to a proposed 30-day ceasefire, despite Russia's rejection.
Russian forces have recaptured most of the territory in the Kursk region that Ukraine held for seven months, raising questions about the impact of the US intelligence cutoff, with the Russians prioritizing the Kursk front and deploying electronic warfare to prevent Ukrainian drone counterattacks.
The Russian military intensified its attacks on March 6, a day after the US cut off military and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, with Ukraine's general staff reporting 32 attacks by Russian forces. By Tuesday, Russia's defense ministry announced that it had recaptured over 100 square kilometers in Kursk, including a dozen settlements, and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Sudzha had been liberated. Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskii denied the threat of encirclement, but sent drone and electronic warfare reinforcements.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin visited Kursk on Wednesday, and the Kremlin claimed the operation was in its final stage. Ukraine had initially caught Russia off-guard in August 2023, but the Institute for the Study of War assessed that Russian forces had recaptured 655 square kilometers in Kursk by last month, more than half the territory Ukraine held. A Ukrainian government source attributed the Russian advance to the US intelligence cutoff, saying Ukraine was unable to detect Russian bomber and fighter jet takeoffs or use US intelligence to set targeting coordinates for its most precise weapons.
Despite the US intelligence cutoff, Ukraine continued to conduct deep strikes inside Russia, with a massive drone operation striking Moscow and the Diaghilev air force base in Ryazan on Tuesday. The conflict in Kursk, Russia, has significant implications for the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, with international leaders calling for a ceasefire and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
