US intelligence halt leaves Ukraine vulnerable in Kursk region

"As a result of this pause, there are hundreds of dead Ukrainians. It’s really causing an advantage for the enemy on the front line," a Ukrainian officer told the magazine. According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are compelled to fight without some basic weapon systems due to the "Americans' refusal" to meet their commitments, which is seriously impacting the morale of Ukrainian soldiers.

The most challenging situation is in the Kursk region, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are striving to retain the territory gained during the August offensive. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, views this region as a crucial asset in future peace talks with Russia and hopes to leverage it for an exchange.

A source in the president's office confirmed that the most significant impact on operations in the Kursk region was indeed the loss of access to American intelligence data, as Ukrainians can no longer detect incoming Russian bombers and other military aircraft. As a result, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have almost no time to alert civilians and soldiers of an air raid or missile threat.

Previously, it was reported that the Russian army made notable advances in the Kursk region, reclaiming 17% of the territory held by the Ukrainian Armed Forces within a week. According to "The Telegraph," due to these actions, 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers were at risk of encirclement.

By 7 March, Russian forces had nearly completely divided Ukrainian units and cut off the main group from a key supply line, which is a narrow land corridor approximately 1 kilometre long and just under 500 metres wide, stated the Deep State project associated with Ukraine's Ministry of Defence.

Russian troops also utilised the inactive Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhgorod gas pipeline to approach Ukrainian Armed Forces positions in the Sudzha area.

However, judging by reports from the Ukrainian General Staff and pro-Russian war channels, this attempt was unsuccessful. The Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that the Russian group was "detected in time" by air reconnaissance units of airborne-assault troops. Meanwhile, pro-Russian blogger Vladimir Romanov reported that some Russian soldiers simply suffocated in such a narrow passage (the pipe has a diameter of 1.4 metres, the route length – 14 kilometres) because they were not equipped with specialised gear.

The situation in the Kursk region remains tense. Chief Sergeant of the 47th Mechanized Brigade "Magura," Oleh Chaus, said that the road in the Sudzha area is about 5 kilometres and that section is entirely controlled by Russian FPV drones.

"If we are talking about the number of them, then it should be said here that you can see 7-8 of these drones in the sky in 10-15 minutes. That is, they just swarm there," he told "Time" magazine.

The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation reported that during the offensive, the Russian army captured the village of Lebedivka on the Loknia River, 5 kilometres from the border with Ukraine and 10 kilometres northwest of Sudzha, as well as the settlement of Novenke in the Sumy region.

On 3 March, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the suspension of all military assistance to Ukraine, including that which was already en route. By 5 March, it became clear that this decision also encompassed intelligence data and satellite imagery. Consequently, all Western specialists who were assisting in obtaining and analysing such information at the military headquarters in Kyiv left Ukraine.

Commenting on his decision, Trump stated that he wants to "stop the killing." However, after the suspension of U.S. military aid, Russia launched massive attacks on Ukraine. Despite this, Trump said he still believes in Russian President Vladimir Putin's desire to end the war. He admitted that Russia is "bombing the hell out of Ukraine," taking advantage of the situation, but emphasised that Putin is "doing what anybody else would do," as he allegedly wants "to end the war."