Ukrainian forces not surrounded in Kursk, will continue offensive operations in Russia – DM Umerov

Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s Defense Minister, refuted claims of trapped Ukrainian units in Russia’s Kursk Oblast during a Fox News interview aired on Sunday. 

"We control a significant number of kilometers of enemy territory. We’ve redeployed to more advantageous defensive lines, but at this stage, no unit is encircled," he said, branding reports of thousands of surrounded troops as "a continuation of propaganda."

He pointed to similar unverified Russian claims from the 2024 BRICS summit last fall, which also fizzled.

Umerov vowed that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would persist with "active defensive actions and offensive operations on the flanks of enemy groupings to prevent their invasion into Ukrainian territory."

His statement counters U.S. President Donald Trump’s March 14 assertion that "thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are completely surrounded," a claim Trump tied to a plea to Putin to spare their lives, though he offered no specifics.

Ukraine’s General Staff swiftly debunked it that day, stating no such threat exists in Kursk Oblast.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, briefed by Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on March 15 that the Kursk operation succeeded in diverting Russian forces from Pokrovsk, Kharkiv, and Sumy sectors, with Ukrainian troops still executing combat tasks there.