Ukrainian troops are surrendering control of Sudzha district of Kursk region to the Russian Federation, which they captured seven months ago, almost without a fight, which may indicate that this was a prerequisite for US-mediated ceasefire talks with the Russian Federation, Le Monde wrote on Thursday evening.

"For several days, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been gradually withdrawing from the pocket in Kursk region they took control of seven months ago. Already under pressure from a Russian military force six times their size, they were dealt a serious blow by the US decision on March 5 to no longer provide them with military intelligence. The lack of images of groups of prisoners of war or significant seizures of abandoned Ukrainian weapons suggests that the fighting was not intense. During three years of war, Ukrainian troops almost always put up a fierce resistance in a defensive position, which was clearly not the case now," the message reads.