Russia is continuing to retake captured areas in Kursk province as the US restores military aid to Ukraine and agrees to a ceasefire proposal with Kyiv.
Russia advances rapidly at Kursk
According to AFP, Ukrainian forces are under intense pressure in Kursk province (Russia), where they have been attacking since August 2024 and have gained partial control with the aim of dispersing Russian forces and to exchange with areas controlled by Moscow in Ukraine.
The Kremlin announced on March 12 that Russian troops were advancing successfully in Kursk and recapturing several villages from Ukrainian forces. On the same day, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had recaptured five settlements on the outskirts of the town of Sudzha. "Information provided by the military indicates that troops are advancing successfully in the Kursk region, liberating areas under the control of militants. The dynamics are good," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russian military reveals details of 'underground' battle in Kursk
TASS news agency quoted Deputy Head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, Commander of the Special Forces Akhmat Apty Alaudinov as saying that the Russian army had surrounded Ukrainian forces through a gas pipeline and defeated enemy units in Sudzha.
The official assessed that this was one of the most effective battles in the entire Russian special military operation. Mr. Alaudinov said that many Russian units entered the pipeline and moved 12-15 km behind the Ukrainian forces.
On March 12, Russian monitoring organizations and media reported that Russian forces had entered the town of Sudzha and fighting was taking place there, but Ukraine has not commented. Russian media posted a video claiming that Russian soldiers were waving flags in the center of Sudzha.
A still image taken from a video taken on March 12 shows people in military uniform waving flags, including the Russian flag, in the center of the town of Sudzha in Kursk province.
Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi earlier said there was no immediate threat of encirclement as Ukrainian forces were redeploying to a favourable defensive line. He also said that some settlements that Russia claimed to have recaptured had in fact been defunct due to shelling.
The situation in Kursk has recently caused concern for Ukraine as Russia has advanced while the US has suspended military and intelligence aid to Kyiv. On the other hand, Kursk Governor Alexander Khinshtein wrote on Telegram on March 12 that four civilians were killed and two others were injured after a Ukrainian attack on a feed production facility in the province.
Ukrainian servicemen patrol in Sudzha on August 16, 2024.
Developments in Ukraine
A Russian missile strike on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih on March 12 killed one woman and injured at least nine others, Reuters quoted Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak as saying.
The attack also damaged infrastructure, apartment buildings, administrative buildings, a store and an educational institution. Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky and has been repeatedly attacked over the past three years.
Hotel in Kryvyi Rih destroyed after attack on March 12
According to Reuters, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that Russia used three missiles to attack Kryvyi Rih and the southern port city of Odessa. Moscow also launched 133 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to attack across Ukraine on the night of March 11 and early morning of March 12. In Odessa, the missile attack killed four Syrians and injured one Syrian and one Ukrainian. In addition, a ship carrying wheat to Algeria was damaged, along with another ship and grain warehouses.
On the Russian side, the country's Defense Ministry announced that it had intercepted and destroyed 21 Ukrainian UAVs overnight, including 12 in Bryansk province and the rest in Kursk, Kaluga, the Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea.
Russia said it had captured the villages of Dniproenerhiia and Novomarkove in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, hitting a transport ship carrying ammunition for Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine accepts US ceasefire proposal, eyes turn to Russia
US to contact Russia about ceasefire proposal
Regarding Ukraine's agreement to the US's 30-day ceasefire proposal when the two countries' delegations met in Saudi Arabia on March 11, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on March 12 declined to comment, saying that Russia needs to hear from the US about the meeting with Ukraine first. In addition, he did not rule out the possibility of a phone call between President Vladimir Putin and President Trump in the coming days, according to TASS.
Speaking in Ireland on the same day, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US administration was pleased that Ukraine supported the process and that the focus at this time was on Russia's response. He predicted that the US would contact Russia within the day, according to The Guardian .
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio holds a press conference in Ireland on March 12 on his way from Saudi Arabia to Canada to attend the G7 foreign ministers' meeting.
“If they say yes, that would be very good news and we would begin the process and do everything we can to move forward. If they say no, that would tell you a lot about their goals and their thinking, but I don’t want to get into specifics about that before they get back to us,” Rubio said.
Meanwhile, President Zelensky of Ukraine hopes to take strong steps if Russia rejects the US proposal. He called on the US to act with Europe to force Russia to end the conflict.
Ukraine admits to attacking key oil pipeline to EU
On the other hand, he said that future security guarantees for Ukraine would have to be discussed during the ceasefire. The leader stressed that Ukraine's red line is that it will not recognize any territory controlled by Russia as Russian.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council (upper house) Konstantin Kosachev commented on March 12 that Ukraine agreed to what the US requested but the agreements would be implemented under Russia's terms.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chien-su-ukraine-ngay-1113-nga-gianh-lai-thi-tran-o-kursk-cho-nghe-de-xuat-tu-my-185250312181801194.htm
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