Russian forces have driven the Ukrainian army out of the biggest town in Russia’s Kursk border region, officials have claimed.
The news comes as US officials are seeking the Kremlin’s response to a proposed 30-day ceasefire which Ukraine has endorsed.
The Ukrainian army’s seven-month foothold in Kursk has been under intense pressure for months from a renewed effort by Russian forces, backed by North Korean troops.
Ukraine’s daring incursion last August led to the first occupation of Russian soil by foreign troops since the Second World War and embarrassed the Kremlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, met General Valery Gerasimov during his visit to military headquarters in the Kursk region on Wednesday (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP)
The Russian Defence Ministry’s claim that it had recaptured the town of Sudzha could not be independently verified. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.
Ukraine launched the raid in a bid to counter the unceasingly glum news from the front line, as well as draw Russian troops away from the battlefield inside Ukraine and gain a bargaining chip in any peace talks.
But the incursion did not significantly change the dynamic of the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited military headquarters in the region on Wednesday and spoke to military commanders there.