Ukrainian forces will be able to hold onto territory captured during their incursion into western Russia’s Kursk region for several months or longer, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing a U.S. assessment shared by senior American officials.
Ukraine launched its offensive into the border region on Aug. 6, claiming to control 100 settlements and almost 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of territory in the Kursk region.
Russia has since claimed to have retaken about a dozen villages, including two on Wednesday, but has otherwise limited its counterattacks.
Russia’s focus on advancing in eastern Ukraine has allowed Kyiv to deliver supplies to the Kursk area, the U.S. officials were cited as saying, amid concerns that the incursion could prove costly.
The Bloomberg report did not say whether U.S. officials believe Russia will eventually retake the territories by force or Ukraine will return them through negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the captured territories could be used as leverage in potential negotiations with Russia.
Kyiv said one of the aims of its offensive — the largest by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II — was to divert Moscow’s forces from fighting in eastern Ukraine, a goal that has largely failed to materialize.
Ukraine has also said its Kursk offensive is intended to create a buffer zone to stop shelling of its border areas.
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