Russia's rapid advance through Kursk toward the town of Sudzha in recent days has sparked claims online that the U.S. could have coordinated with Moscow on a pause of military aid to Ukraine.
There is no evidence to suggest that the U.S. collaborated with Russia to time its military aid block ahead of a Russian offensive in Kursk.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House and the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Kyiv launched a surprise incursion into Russia's western Kursk region in August 2024, quickly gaining swathes of territory close to the border. While Russian and North Korean troops had managed to peel back some of Ukraine's control, Moscow had struggled to push Ukrainian forces from Sudzha.
The chunk of territory held by Kyiv's forces, sometimes referred to as the Ukrainian salient in Kursk, provided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with a bargaining chip in ceasefire negotiations, particularly on the difficult issue of territory.
Russia began a fresh assault towards Sudzha in recent days, making rapid gains on the outskirts of the town. Reports on Wednesday indicated Ukrainian troops were pulling out of Sudzha to avoid being trapped by advancing Russian forces, while footage from Russian sources purported to show the Russian flag in the center of the town.
Ukraine had not officially commented at the time of writing.
What To Know
Several social media accounts claimed, without providing evidence, that Russia's assault on Sudzha could have been timed to take advantage of Ukraine's lack of access to military supplies and intelligence.
"Russia's moves in Kursk appear to have been coordinated with Trump's move to cut supplies & intel," one account claimed.
"The American administration is trying to remove Ukraine's options before any negotiations," another wrote.
The U.S. paused all shipments of military aid to Ukraine in early March, followed by a block on much of the U.S.-derived intelligence shared with Kyiv shortly after. The military aid and intelligence cooperation was restarted this week after U.S.-Ukrainian talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
"As a result of this pause, there are hundreds of dead Ukrainians," an unnamed Ukrainian officer told TIME.
An unidentified source in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office told the magazine that Kyiv's operations in the Kursk region had been hardest hit by the U.S. intelligence cut-off.
"Not only Kursk, in all Russian territory there are problems now," the source said.
Ruslan Leviev, a Russian opposition figure who runs the Conflict Intelligence Team open-source intelligence project, said on Wednesday that "Ukrainian troops are leaving" Sudzha.
One of Russia's prominent military bloggers said on Wednesday that Russian troops were operating in industrial areas of Sudzha, and had attacked Ukrainian troops trying to transport resources along the main supply route from Sumy to Kursk. Russia has been concentrating on cutting off Ukraine's logistics and supply routes to Sudzha.
"Russian forces continue to make confirmed advances in Kursk Oblast and have likely begun attacking Sudzha," the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said on Tuesday.
Geolocated footage shows Russia has seized a set of villages southeast and east of Sudzha, while advancing to the north and south of the settlement, the think tank said.
What People Are Saying
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said on Wednesday that "deliveries of weapons through Jasionka have returned to previous levels," referring to U.S. aid passing via eastern Poland into Ukraine, after Washington lifted its ban.
What Happens Next
It is not clear how quickly Russian troops will be able to re-establish control of the remaining Kursk territory still held by Ukraine, and how the area will play into ongoing ceasefire negotiations as Russia engages in talks with Washington.