Russia claims it has regained full control of Corsak from Ukraine

During a video conference meeting with Putin on Saturday, Gerasimov said: “Today, the last settlement in the Kursk region, the village of Journal, was liberated from the Ukrainian forces.”

He praised what he described as the “North Korean forces” that “provided” great assistance in defeating the Ukrainian Armed Forces Group.

“The Kiev regime’s adventure has completely failed,” Putin told Gerasimov, claiming that it would pave the way for more Russian progress on other fronts.

In response to a post on a telegram, the general staff of the Ukrainian army said The situation in the battlefield was “difficult” But he insisted that its forces are still occupying positions in Kursk and continue to penetrate into the Russian region of Beljorod.

Ukraine’s incursion was launched last August as an attempt to establish a buffer zone on the border between the two countries that would prevent the deployment of Russian forces on the eastern confrontation line in Ukraine.

This comes a day after US President Donald Trump said that Russia and Ukraine were “very close to the deal” to end the war, in the wake of talks between his envoy Steve Whistov and Putin this week.

Trump met with Ukrainian President Folodimir Zelinski before the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican on Saturday. Zelinski BBC told Friday that he was pushing for a “full and unconditional shooting” before any deal was concluded.

Kiev has faced increasing pressure from Trump to accept regional concessions as part of any deal with Moscow to end the fighting, which could include abandoning the Crimea Peninsula, which was illegally joined by Russia in 2014.

Ukraine was hoping that it would be able to use the land it seized in the Kursk region as a bargaining in future peace talks with Russia, which launched its full invasion in 2022 and its two and its two and its two and its two sins. It currently controls about 20 % of internationally recognized lands in Ukraine.

Russia says its forces are now on the border with the Sumerin region in Ukraine, located next to Kursk.