Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed his country has recaptured Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, though Kyiv insists its troops are fiercely battling to preserve its foothold in the territory.

Nearly nine months after losing chunks of the Kursk region to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia has announced that its troops have fully reclaimed the border territory.

Ukrainian servicemen remain in Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions. This was stated by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky after the report of the Commander-in-Chief of the AFU Alexander Syrsky on the situation at the front. "Our military continue active defense actions on the territory of certain areas of Kursk and Belgorod regions," he noted.