All of this begs the question: in the end, was the Kursk offensive worth it? Actually, people have posed that question from the very beginning. When Kiev was deliberating over the invasion, some generals doubted the benefits would be worth the cost.

President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin both claimed that Ukrainian forces were surrounded. Ukraine’s top military commander vowed to “hold the line.”

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that Ukrainian troops remaining in the Kursk region of Russia will be ruthlessly destroyed if they continue to fight. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier responded to U.