Putin's imaginary encirclement: Russian media challenges leader's misleading claims about Ukrainian Forces allegedly trapped in Kursk region
Russian leader Vladimir Putin maintains the claim that 2,000 Ukrainian troops are encircled in the Kursk region, a scenario that both Ukrainian and Russian sources deny is reality.
In a recent interview with the Russian media, Russian president Vladimir Putin expounded on the purported encirclement of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region, a narrative he first mentioned a few days ago. His unwavering belief in this so-called "cauldron" continues, despite growing evidence to the contrary. The video featuring Putin's declarations was published on October 26 by Kremlin-aligned journalist Pavel Zarubin.
Putin boldly asserted that in the Kursk region, a supposed "cauldron" spans about 90 square kilometers, allegedly trapping 2,000 Ukrainian troops. "Around two weeks ago, the 155th Marine Brigade breached enemy lines about 10 km from the border. Then, they boldly moved along the state border... covering approximately another 10 km. Their concerted efforts established a reliable encirclement, which is now being tightened to neutralize the grouping. Based on our rough estimates, there are about 2,000 personnel over an area of 6 by 15 km... I was informed just an hour ago," claimed Putin.
In reality, no such encirclement exists in the Kursk region, a fact acknowledged not only by Ukrainian forces but also by Russian Z-war correspondents. There was indeed a breakthrough by Russian forces in the Kursk region a few weeks prior. However, the Russian advance on this front was stymied just a day later. Subsequent attempts to push forward have failed, and the notion of encircled Ukrainian forces has been debunked by the Russian war channel "Northern Channel." This channel is affiliated with the "North" group of Russian forces operating in the Kursk direction and is well-informed on the ground situation.
"It's odd, of course, but we neither saw nor even heard of such a 'cauldron' here! But the leader didn’t pluck this from thin air; it's what was reported to him... comrade General-Colonel, Alexander Palych [General-Colonel Lapin, a commander in the Russian Armed Forces], this is definitely your doing... Isn’t it embarrassing to lie to the supreme leader? Isn't it scary?" writes another Russian war channel “VDV for Justice and Fairness”.
The Channel also noted that the Russian Armed Forces' command is effectively making a mockery of Putin by having him perpetuate falsehoods.