The Russians remain blocked on 700 square kilometers, says Bild.

Ukrainian armed forces (VSU) operating on Russian territory recently captured a village called Krasnooсtyabrskoye, which resulted in the "complete encirclement" of a sizeable group of Russian military at Ukraine’s eastern border.

According to the German publication Bild, about 3,000 Russian soldiers have been surrounded on an area of 700 square kilometers in the Kursk region of Russia. Their conditions are worsening day by day as they are cut off new supplies including ammunition following the destruction of three key bridges on the Seym River by Ukrainian artillery and aviation on 16-19 August.

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Citing satellite data and Russian military sources, Bild claims the majority of surrounded Russian soldiers are located in the villages of Tyotkino and Glushkovo – about 1,000 in each – and the rest are caught along the border.

The Russians pushed back Ukrainian forces from Korenevo in a counterattack but were unable to break through the encirclement. All pontoon bridges across the Seym River were destroyed too.

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To fully defend the Kursk region and reclaim lost territory, the Russian Ministry of Defense would need about 50,000 soldiers, according to estimates by military analysts. However, the Kremlin does not seem to care about lost land as long as its offensive in the Donbas region continues. There, the Russian army breached Ukrainian defenses and captured 200 square kilometers of territory since early August - four times more than during the previous month.

Most likely, Moscow will deploy newly-conscripted troops to defend the Kursk region, attempting to stay focused on the collapse of the Ukrainian state or obtain better terms for an eventual armistice, as reported earlier by Bloomberg and Meduza.

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