Vladimir Putin’s troops quickly advance in the Koursk – L’Express region

The recovery of Vladimir Putin advances very quickly. The Russian armed forces are continuing, this Friday, March 14, their counter-offensive to return to the hundreds of square kilometers from the Koursk region which have still been under Ukrainian control since the summer of 2024.

While the Ukrainian army is now losing ground at an unprecedented speed, Vladimir Putin called Ukrainian soldiers fighting in the region to lay down their arms, after a call from Donald Trump to “save the life” of the soldiers on the front. “If they lay down their arms and surrender, they will be guaranteed life and a worthy treatment in accordance with the standards of international law and the laws of the Russian Federation,” said the master of the Kremlin, according to remarks disseminated by a Russian journalist.

The Russian president said Thursday that the “next steps” towards a truce and peace in Ukraine would depend on the success of his army in the Koursk region. Earlier in the week, he had assured that his forces would “soon” chase the Ukrainian soldiers.

US President Donald Trump told him this Friday that “thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are completely surrounded by the Russian army”, calling Vladimir Putin to “save them”. The Ukrainian army then denied these claims, ensuring that there is “no threat of encircling our units” in the Russian region of Koursk.

Express progression

The Russian army has claimed for its part in the last 24 hours the resumption of the locality of Gontcharovka, located in the suburbs of Sudja, a city of 4,000 inhabitants reconquer Thursday by the forces of Vladimir Putin. A final illustration of the rapid advances of Moscow in this area. If kyiv did not comment on this information, President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted this Friday that the situation was “very difficult” for the Ukrainian troops.

Earlier Thursday, the Russian authorities announced that they had evacuated some 120 civilians from Soudja. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations has broadcast a video for this purpose. Most of people, mostly elderly, come out of a vehicle, arms loaded with bags. The situation of Russian civilians stuck under Ukrainian occupation, in the midst of fighting, had created an excitement and public criticism against the Russian authorities. Relatives of civilians accused them not to do enough to get them out of the area. This mobilization, although limited, is rare in Russia, where thousands of people have been continued for criticizing power or the Russian army.

Ukraine had launched an offensive in the Koursk region in August 2024, responding to the assault launched by Moscow against its territory in February 2022. The country hoped to force Russia to divert its soldiers from other parts of the front and use this territory as a currency in the event of peace negotiations. But the Ukrainian soldiers have been forced to retreat quickly in recent days, for a Russian breakthrough which has coincided with the free of days of American military aid, especially in terms of intelligence, essential for kyiv.

Russia claims to have taken over more than 86 % of the conquered territory

Russian chief of staff Valery Guerassimov assured Wednesday that his troops had already taken up “more than 86 %” of the area conquered by kyiv (approximately 1,500 km2). Faced with the Russian rapid progression, the commander -in -chief of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandre Syrsky, had suggested on Wednesday that his troops were withdrawn in the region, without giving more details.

Along the border between the Russian region of Koursk and that Ukrainian of Soumy, the Ukrainian forces “continue to detect attempts by small assault groups” to “enter as deep as possible” on Ukrainian soil, in the direction of NOVENKÉ and JOURAVKA, also said Andriï Demtchenko, spokesperson on Friday.