Ukrainian Forces Struggle to Maintain Toehold in Russian Border Region: Kyiv

Kyiv hopes to use captured Russian territory as a bargaining chip in future cease-fire talks with Moscow.

Ukrainian servicemen operate a Soviet-made T-72 tank amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on Aug. 12, 2024. Photo by ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images

Hard-pressed Ukrainian forces are struggling to hold onto territory they captured this summer in Russia’s western Kursk region, according to military officials in Kyiv.

Writing on the Telegram messaging app, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian military, said that Russian forces deployed in Kursk were “trying to dislodge“ Ukraine’s troops and ”advance deep into the territory” that Ukraine controls.