The Joe Biden administration believes that Ukrainian forces are on the verge of a total loss in Russia’s Kursk Oblast and is now advising Kiev to pull its troops back. Reporting on Kiev’s losses in Kursk, the AP reports the Ukrainian forces have become “demoralized.”

In August, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops stormed across the Russian border and seized a large swath of lightly defended territory in the Kursk Oblast. Since then, Moscow has slowly won back over half the territory. Now, the White House says Ukraine must abandon its foothold in Russia before its troops become encircled.

Discussing the situation facing Ukrainian forces in Kursk, one US official told Bloomberg, “it was a question of time whether Russian forces could envelop it, creating a dilemma for Ukrainian forces to either retreat or surrender.”

Two officials confirmed to the outlet that the White House believes that the Kremlin is now pushing into the Kursk battlefield, and Ukrainian forces will be defeated within months. This assessment has the White House telling Kiev to pull its remaining forces out of Russia.  

The strategy behind the Kursk offensive was always in question. Many of the proponents of the attack argued it would give Kiev additional bargaining chips at the negotiating table. However, it now appears Ukraine will lose the territory before talks begin. 

Additionally, the loss in Kursk has caused Ukrainian troops to become demoralized. The AP reports, “Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk, a region some want to hold at all costs while others question the value of having gone in at all.”

In a sign that Russian envelopment may be coming, some Ukrainian commanders told the outlet that they were unable to evacuate the bodies of dead soldiers. 

American and Ukrainian officials have claimed that many of the Russian gains in Kursk are the result of the deployment of North Korean soldiers to the battlefield. While there is no evidence of significant North Korean involvement in the fighting, the White House has promoted the allegations and used it as an excuse to ramp up support for Kiev. 

On Friday, White House Spokesman John Kirby claimed that North Korean soldiers were launching ineffective attacks in Kursk and sustaining heavy losses. 

“We now assess that North Korean forces are conducting massed dismounted assaults against Ukrainian positions in Kursk, and these human wave tactics that we’re seeing haven’t really been all that effective,” Kirby said. “In fact, we assessed that they resulted in heavy casualties for these North Korean forces.”