US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, passed this information to the White House last week, Reuters reports. Photo: Depositphotos
US intelligence has shattered the Russian fake about the alleged encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region. According to Reuters, citing three senior US and European officials, the data passed to the White House refutes claims of a complete blockade of Ukrainian troops.
According to them, yes, the Ukrainian military did withdraw under pressure from Russian forces, but there is no question of encirclement. The intelligence assessment categorically contradicts the statements of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, who were quick to play up the drama in the international arena.
On 14 March, Trump said that “thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded, in a very bad and vulnerable position”. According to him, he even “asked Putin to save their lives”. Russian propaganda immediately picked up the story, trying to present the situation as another “triumph”.
However, the White House received a completely different picture. The data from the CIA and other intelligence agencies, which were handed over to the administration last week, do not support the Kremlin’s version. Yet Trump continues to insist on his version, ignoring official intelligence assessments.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also commented on this information manipulation. On 15 March, he stressed that there was no encirclement, and that the narrative of “Ukrainian soldiers in a trap” was another of Putin’s lies. He urged international partners not to believe the Kremlin’s statements, as intelligence and satellite imagery make it easy to verify the real situation.
What’s next? It seems that Moscow is once again trying to create an alternative reality by playing on fears and emotions. However, Western intelligence does not leave it a chance. A lie, even if repeated a thousand times, does not become the truth – especially when facts stand against it.
