CIA shares information with White House, Ukrainians are not surrounded in Kursk

Ukrainian troops in Kursk have lost ground in recent days, but are not surrounded by Russian forces, contrary to recent comments from US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

It is known that US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, shared this assessment with the White House last week.

Trump, however, has continued to claim that Ukrainian troops are surrounded in the Kursk region of western Russia.

American and European intelligence assessments indicate that Ukrainian troops are facing strong pressure from Russian forces, but they are not completely surrounded.

Trump has said he hopes to quickly end Russia's war in Ukraine, writes Reuters, the Telegraph reports.

Experts describe Putin's claim on March 13 that Ukrainian forces in Kursk were surrounded and would ultimately have to "surrender or die" as disinformation intended to show that Russia was offering concessions while saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.

In a social media post on March 14, Trump said he had asked the Russian president to spare the lives of thousands of Ukrainians, who he said were "completely surrounded" and defenseless.

Putin said he would do this if they surrendered.

Trump repeated the claim about Ukrainian forces being "encircled" during a speech at Washington's Kennedy Center and in an interview with Fox News.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reportedly denied that Ukrainian forces are surrounded and said Putin is lying about the reality on the ground.

The Ukrainian leader acknowledged that his army is in a difficult position in Kursk and that he expects continued attacks from Russia as it tries to push Ukrainian forces out of the region.

By contrast, since August, when Ukrainian soldiers crossed Russia's western border at Kursk, Kiev has lost almost all the territory it gained.

Trump spoke with Putin on Tuesday.

During that call, the Russian leader said he would stop attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure for 30 days, a promise that fell short of the full 30-day ceasefire that Trump has demanded and that Zelensky has said Ukraine would be willing to accept.

“This is likely part of Putin’s effort to signal that they are winning the war and that resistance is futile and that it is inevitable that Russia’s greater strength will bring victory. This resonates with Trump,” said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"Both sides are maneuvering to get into a better position for negotiations," he added. /Telegraph/