Russian soldiers are locked in a fierce battle to reclaim all of the Kursk region from the Ukrainian Army.

Both sides view control of Kursk as a crucial element in expected peace talks promised by President Trump.

Many residents of the region were forced to flee. An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 Russian civilians remain.

The intense fighting has cost thousands of lives on both sides.

A Russian special forces commander served on four battlefronts across eastern Ukraine after joining Russia’s invasion nearly three years ago. He said the most ferocious fighting he has seen is now unfolding back home, as the Russian Army he serves struggles to liberate a sliver of national territory from Ukrainian forces.

The protracted battle for the occupied Russian town of Sudzha and the surrounding countryside has unexpectedly emerged as one of the focal points of a war fought over the fate of the Ukrainian state. Both sides have committed a significant share of their limited reserves to control Sudzha, a once sleepy county seat in the Kursk region, near the two countries’ border.

Both sides see Kursk as must-have territory, an important element in the expected peace talks promised by President Trump. Military analysts say the Ukrainian forces have since poured some of their best reserves into Kursk, hoping to use its conquest as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

Russia

Rylsk

Kursk

Pogrebki

Novoivanovka

Bolschoje Soldatskoje

Sudzha

Kyiv

Kharkiv

Bakhmut

Ukraine

DONBAs

Sea of

Azov

Crimea

Black

Sea

100 MILES

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Source: www.nytimes.com