Ukraine set to lose Kursk pocket, its foothold inside Russia

Kursk [Ukraine], March 13: Ukrainian troops appeared on the point of losing their hard-won foothold inside Russia's Kursk region on Wednesday as Moscow claimed further advances there and military bloggers on both sides said Kyiv's forces were withdrawing.
Ukraine sprang one of the biggest shocks of the war on August 6 last year by storming across the border and grabbing a chunk of land inside Russia, boosting citizens' morale and gaining a potential bargaining chip.
But after clinging for more than seven months to a gradually shrinking area, Ukraine has seen its position worsen sharply in the past week.
Russia's defence ministry on Wednesday reported the capture of five more villages, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that "the dynamics are good".
Reuters was able to verify video published by Russian bloggers and state media showing troops standing with a Russian tricolour flag on a square in the centre of Sudzha, a town near the Ukrainian border on a highway used by Ukraine as a supply route.
Deep State, an authoritative Ukrainian site that charts the frontlines of the war, updated its battlefield map to show Ukrainian forces were no longer in control of Sudzha. However, it said fighting was continuing on the outskirts.
A Ukrainian military spokesperson declined to comment.
Ukraine's top commander denied this week that his forces were being encircled, but said they were taking up better defensive positions.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation