Rustem Umerov denied the claims spread by Russian propaganda of the alleged encirclement of a large number of Ukrainian troops in Kursk region.
“Our Defense Forces continue to conduct defensive operations, and we are keeping a significant number of kilometers of enemy territory under control,” he said. “To preserve some availability of the forces and troops, we have conducted some planned redeployment to more favorable defense lines, but at this stage, no unit of our Defense Forces is encircled.”
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Umerov stressed that the claims about “thousands of Ukrainian servicemen” being allegedly encircled are not correct. He recalled that a similar statement – regarding the “encirclement” of Ukrainian troops in Kursk region – was made by Russian dictator Putin in October 2024 at the BRICS summit. At that time, this propaganda claim did not correspond to reality either.
“We will continue our active defense operations with some offensive actions against the flanks of enemy forces to prevent their invasion of our territory,” the head of the Defense Ministry assured.
At the same time, he thanked the people and leadership of the United States “for their security assistance, for the diplomatic efforts they are doing.”
When asked whether he trusted Putin regarding the possibility of achieving a ceasefire, Umerov replied: “We trust the American people. We trust the American administration and we are support it.”
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The minister noted that the Ukrainian side will soon be informed about the discussions that Washington is conducting with the Russians. “Now the ball is on Russia’s side. If they wish to finish this war, they need to just unconditionally say yes to the U.S.,” he stressed.
Umerov also recalled Ukraine’s aspiration to become a member of the European Union and NATO. “And we fight for it. We have many similarities with the American people, and we want to say that we are friends, we are partners,” the Ukrainian minister said, adding that Ukraine wants the U.S. to remain by its side.
As Ukrinform reported, on Friday, after U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Vladimir Putin, Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social: “At this very moment, thousands of Ukrainian troops are completely surrounded by Russian military.”
At the same time, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces noted that reports of the alleged encirclement of Ukrainian units in Kursk region are untrue and are being spread by the Russians for political purposes.
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