Moscow's forces have seized control of three settlements in the north of the Ukrainian-controlled pocket

Russia has liberated three villages in Kursk Region, marking a new advance against the Ukrainian invasion force in the area, the Defense Ministry in Moscow announced on Saturday. 

The villages of Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina are situated on the northernmost tip of the Ukrainian-controlled area in Russia's Kursk Region. The settlements are located immediately to the west of the village of Malaya Loknya, a major stronghold for the Ukrainian force in the region, and across the eponymous river. The fall of the three villages puts the Ukrainian troops holed up in the area in a more precarious position.

Over the past few days, things have rapidly deteriorated for the Ukrainian force in the area. Russian troops continue pressuring the town of Sudzha, the largest settlement under Kiev's control in Kursk Region. The invasion force has been experiencing logistics troubles and is now dependent on a single major cross-border road, which has been coming under constant Russian drone and artillery strikes.

This week, multiple media reports suggested that Kiev's troops were on the brink of encirclement in the area, with between 6,500 and 10,000 soldiers at risk of being cut off completely. All bridges in the vicinity of Sudzha have reportedly been destroyed, while heavy damage to the road infrastructure is hampering the Ukrainian forces' ability to resupply and, potentially, withdraw from the area.

Kiev launched a surprise invasion of Kursk early in August last year, seizing Sudzha and multiple settlements in its vicinity in a matter of days. Since then, the Ukrainian zone of control has shrunk more than twofold, while Russia has regained control over numerous locations in the area.

The Kursk incursion has taken a heavy toll on the Ukrainian military. More than 65,500 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the area, while some 386 tanks, nearly 300 infantry fighting vehicles, 259 armored personnel carriers, and over 2,000 other armored vehicles have been destroyed or captured, according to the Russian military.