Russia's reconquest Did Trump betray Ukraine in Kursk? What speaks for it - and what speaks against it

After seven and a half months, the Kursk adventure of Kiev's forces seems to be over: Vladimir Putin's army is recapturing Russian territory. Did Donald Trump help the Russians?

"The Kursk operation is essentially over," says Ukrainian intelligence officer Andrii to the New York Times (NYT). "Now we need to stabilize the situation." Commander Boroda confirms that his platoon was attacked from all sides by Russians, "which led to our retreat".

It took Boroda's platoon two days to retreat a good 19 kilometers from Kazachya Loknya to the Ukrainian border. "The area where we were standing was already occupied by Russian troops," says the officer.

At their peak, Kiev's forces controlled almost 1,300 square kilometers in Kursk. Now it is just 78 square kilometers. "We are still holding our positions on the Kursk front," says Boroda. "The only difference is that our positions have moved much closer to the border."

Trump: "That would be a terrible massacre"

Why is it that Kiev's advance, which began on August 6, is now coming to an end? And is what Donald Trump says on the subject true? After all, the US President recently wrote in capital letters that "thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely trapped" and "in a very bad and vulnerable position" in Kursk?

"I have strongly urged President Putin to spare their lives," Trump said on Truth Social. "That would be a horrible massacre, the likes of which have not been seen since World War II." That sounds like the situation is pretty hopeless for the Ukrainians. But the NYT notes that Kiev's forces have by no means been encircled - and that Ukrainian losses in Kursk have been limited.

The beginning of the end began in mid-January, when North Korean and Russian troops closed to within eight kilometers of the connecting roads from Sudzha, the NYT continues. Since then, the supply routes have been consistently attacked with drones: Because many of them are connected to their pilots by fiber-optic cable, they cannot be fought electronically.

"A modern Molotov-Ribbentrop pact"

"Their drones landed near important supply routes and waited for a target to come by," the 36-year-old Cap told the NYT. The bridges in Kursk were also targeted: That was one of the main reasons for the Ukrainians' retreat, adds soldier Artem.

The situation had already come to a head before Trump suspended military aid and the sharing of intelligence on March 3. The measure taken by the US President has nevertheless given rise to speculation that Washington deliberately helped Moscow to recapture Kursk.

Roman Sheremeta, economist at Case Western Reserve University, thinks so, for example. In a commentary in the "Kyiv Post", the American is surprised that Trump stopped the aid "just as Russia's counter-offensive began". The White House did this "on purpose". "The deal between the USA and Russia could be a modern Molotov-Ribbentrop pact", Shermneta believes.

Trump's measures partly helped Putin

This speculation is somewhat wild: planning a counter-offensive and the associated deployment of troops usually takes weeks. In addition, the withdrawal of intelligence information hurts, especially in terms of missile defense, but on the ground Kiev has enough resources of its own to reconnoitre the enemy.

One disadvantage in Kursk for Volodymyr Selensky was the lack of support from F-16 jets and Patriot batteries at the time, which did not prevent generic glide bombs from being dropped. Secondly, the Himars missile launchers were also unable to provide support without US assistance.

The order to withdraw was then given on March 10, writes the NYT. "It was a mixture of organized and chaotic retreat," Boroda said. "Various factors influenced the retreat: fatigue, good or bad orders from individual commanders, miscommunication - or well-functioning coordination."

"There was a bit of panic"

"We couldn't allow expensive missiles to be fired at the wrong target," confirms Andrii. The result: on March 8, the Russians achieved a breakthrough in Kursk, the Ukrainians had to retreat - and Moscow's men moved up again. Andrii says that the enemy "trumped his men a little": "There was a bit of panic."

On March 13, Moscow reported the recapture of Sudzha, the focal point of the Ukrainian Kursk offensive. Although Kiev's forces still hold some Russian soil, they are likely to be pushed back home soon. At least they are now in elevated positions, which will make it easier to defend against Russian attacks.

The question of whether the Kursk offensive was worthwhile for Kiev will probably only be definitively clarified with time. It will probably have been a success in that it has boosted the morale of Kiev's army. Moreover, Vladimir Putin would probably have been able to deploy more soldiers in the south and east of Ukraine without the Kursk problem.

What is certain is that the recapture has caused the Russian army to bleed: According to Ukrainian figures, Putin suffered losses of 40,000 men in Kursk, of which 16,000 soldiers are said to have been killed.