Photo: Rustem Umerov.From the politician’s Facebook page
WASHINGTON, 17 March – Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said that the Ukrainian Defence Forces have carried out a planned redeployment to more favourable defensive positions in the Kursk region of Russia. He denied reports of a mass encirclement of Ukrainian troops, calling them Russian propaganda.
He said this on Fox News, as quoted by Interfax-Ukraine.
Umerov’s direct speech:
“Our Defence Forces continue to conduct defensive actions and control a significant amount of enemy territory.
In order to maintain combat readiness, we relocated to more favourable positions. But at the moment, not a single Ukrainian unit is surrounded. Statements about thousands of our troops allegedly caught in a ring are not true.”
Fake environment and the Russian information operation
According to the defence minister, similar fakes have been spread before, including during the BRICS summit last autumn. Back then, Russia also claimed that the Ukrainian military was “surrounded”, but this information was not confirmed.
“This is a continuation of the propaganda campaign. We will continue active defensive operations, as well as carry out offensive actions on the flanks of the enemy’s operational group to prevent its invasion of our territory,” Umerov stressed.
What preceded this?
– The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine denied the statements about the encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region, which were previously voiced by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.
– President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Kursk operation had fulfilled its main task of forcing the Russian army to pull back some of its forces from Pokrovsk, Kharkiv and Sumy.
– On 16 March, the General Staff published a map confirming the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Suzha in Kursk region.
What’s next?
The Ukrainian military leadership assures that the redeployment is part of a planned defensive operation. At the same time, the Kremlin continues its information warfare, trying to create the illusion of a Ukrainian defeat.
Despite propaganda statements, Ukraine continues to control the situation and hold the line on the northern front.
