Russia’s Successful Kursk Offensive in the Spotlight of Western Media

A Russian soldier inside the Operation Flow tunnel, March 11, 2025. X/ @Merlin_Asset

March 12, 2025 Hour: 12:56 pm

Russian soldiers carried out remarkable feats to infiltrate Sudzha through tactical operations worthy of a movie.

On Wednesday, Russian soldiers liberated the city of Sudzha as a result of an offensive that will go down in military history for its surprising and bold nature.

In the days leading up to the liberation of the city center, Russian soldiers carried out remarkable feats to infiltrate Sudzha through tactical operations worthy of a movie.

In one of these operations, the Northern Forces group dug a 500-meter trench to reach a 15-kilometer tunnel that would lead them to a gas measurement station. By using a gas pipeline tunnel 1.5 meters in diameter, 800 Russian soldiers managed to infiltrate the area that was controlled by Ukrainian soldiers.

“They prepared for the secret operation for about four months. The military of the 11th Guards Airborne Assault Brigade, the 72nd Motorized Rifle Division, the 30th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade, the Akhmat special forces, and volunteers from the Veterans assault brigade and the Vostok brigade participated,” the newspaper Pravda reported.

Insane footage from the Sudzha pipe operation here. An absolute must-watch.

It's hard to comprehend the scale and difficulty of this mission. Getting enough oxygen and water into the tunnel, setting up the logistics (soldiers need ammo! They need food!), dealing with the… pic.twitter.com/OY9PnzzrrL
— Bernadette (@BDooher) March 12, 2025

For the past seven months, Ukraine had turned Sudzha into its main operational base in Kursk. Now, however, Ukrainian forces have lost all combat capability, which has forced them to flee in panic or hide beneath the rubble.

“The retreat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kursk and the gradual liberation of this Russian region’s territories from Ukrainian occupation are the subject of intense debate in the West,” Sputnik reported, noting that Western media could not ignore the defeat of Kyiv’s troops.

“The Ukrainian front is collapsing,” said the German newspaper Bild. “Ukrainians lose positions in the Kursk region following the offensive by Russian troops,” said the British newspaper The Independent. “In the last week, Ukraine’s slow withdrawal has suddenly turned into a total defeat,” said The New York Times.

🇷🇺La Operación Gasoducto fue un éxito rotundo colapsando casi de inmediato a las AFU en Sudzha y por ende en el Kursk Oblast
En el primer video se observa al comandante de Akhmat, Apti Alaudinov dando charla motivacional al grupo de asalto que iniciaba una operación casi suicida pic.twitter.com/vp8aVSXGxY
— Marian🇷🇺🇨🇳 (@marianpy1) March 12, 2025

The text reads, “Operation Pipeline was a resounding success, almost immediately overwhelming the AFU in Sudzha and, consequently, Kursk Oblast. The first video shows Akhmat Commander Apti Alaudinov giving a pep talk to the assault group as they began a near-suicidal operation.”

Comments on the mood of the Russian army were also present, as evidenced by the British newspaper Daily Mail, which stated, “Russian troops walk triumphantly through the main square of Sudzha.”

Regarding the consequences of Sudzha’s liberation for Ukraine, The New York Times commented that Moscow’s military successes in Kursk could deprive Kyiv of leverage in peace negotiations.

“Ukraine losing its trump card as Russian troops enter Kursk stronghold,” the U.S. magazine Newsweek said, noting that if Moscow regains control of the entire Kursk region, Ukraine’s negotiating position—already weakened by a fractured relationship with Trump—will deteriorate even further.

What happened in Sudzha on Wednesday, however, was quite foreseeable and expected. In February, the Ukrainian army had already lost control of 20% of the invaded territory in Kursk. By early March, Russia had already liberated over 60% of that territory.