Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umierov has stated that the defence forces have redeployed to more advantageous defence positions in Russia's Kursk Oblast. He had denied reports claiming that "thousands of Ukrainian servicemen have been encircled".

Source : Interfax-Ukraine citing Umierov on Fox News

Quote from Umierov : "Our defence forces, we continue to conduct defensive operations and we are keeping a significant number of kilometres of enemy territory under control.

To preserve some valuability of the forces and troops, we have conducted some planned redeployment to more favourable defence lines. But, at this stage, no unit of the defence forces is encircled and statements about thousands of Ukrainian servicemen that are encircled are not correct."

Details : Umierov said similar claims about some Ukrainian servicemen being encircled had been spread during the BRICS summit last autumn, but "the information was not confirmed".

Quote from Umierov : "This is the continuation of propaganda. But, we will continue our active defence operations with some offensive actions against the flanks of the enemy's task forces to prevent its invasion to our territory."

Background: 

• Ukraine's General Staff denied reports that Ukrainian units in Russia's Kursk Oblast are encircled, as Russian leader Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump had claimed.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asserted that Ukraine's defence forces had achieved the Kursk operation's principal objective of drawing Russian soldiers away from the cities of Pokrovsk and Sumy and the Kharkiv front.
• Ukraine's General Staff released a map on 16 March showing the complete withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the town of Sudzha in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

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