Russian forces advance in Kursk and curl behind Ukrainian forces

Guy Faulconbridge - Reuters - 10/03
The advance is part of a major encirclement operation aimed at forcing thousands of Ukrainian soldiers to either flee or surrender in western Russia.
  • Russia advances in Kursk region of western Russia
  • Russian special forces creep along gas pipeline
  • Russia seeking to encircle Ukrainian forces
  • Zelenskiy briefed by his commander-in-chief
MOSCOW, March 10 (Reuters) - Russian forces advanced further in Kursk region on Monday and curled behind Ukrainian forces as part of a major encirclement operation aimed at forcing thousands of Ukrainian soldiers to either flee or surrender in western Russia.
The Russian advances threaten to encircle thousands of Ukrainian soldiers just as Ukraine prepares for talks with top U.S. diplomats in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, with U.S. President Donald Trump pressing for a swift end to the war.
Ukrainian troops seized about 1,300 square km (500 square miles) of Russia's Kursk region in August in what Kyiv said was an attempt to gain a bargaining chip in future negotiations and to force Russia to shift forces from eastern Ukraine.
But by mid-February, Russia had taken back at least 800 square km (300 square miles) of territory in Kursk and in recent days launched a major paratrooper offensive from multiple directions that threatens to cut off Ukraine's supply lines and potential routes of withdrawal.
A Russian war blog, Two Majors, said Russian forces had cleared the settlement of Ivashkovsky and Russian units were advancing on the so-called "cauldron" in Kursk from at least seven directions.
Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian...
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