Russian operation in Kursk is in final stage, Kremlin claims, as US negotiators head to Moscow
Russia’s operation to eject Ukrainian forces from the western Russian region of Kursk has entered its final stage, state news agency Tass reported on Thursday, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday visited Kursk for the first time since Ukrainian forces seized some territory in the region.
The news comes as US president Donald Trump said on Wednesday that negotiators were headed to Russia “right now” for talks on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine, after Kyiv agreed to a 30-day truce.
Trump did not give further details, but the White House later said that his special envoy Steve Witkoff was going to Moscow later this week.
Trump would not say when he would next speak to Putin, but added that “I hope he’s going to have a ceasefire.” “It’s up to Russia now,” said the US president.
Ukraine is increasingly suffering on the battlefield, losing ground in the east and south of the country, where officials said eight people were killed on Wednesday.
Russia has also reclaimed territory in its western Kursk region, pushing back Ukrainian troops who staged a shock offensive last August.
Putin was shown on Russian television visiting troops in Kursk on Wednesday.
“I am counting on the fact that all the combat tasks facing our units will be fulfilled, and the territory of the Kursk region will soon be completely liberated from the enemy,” Putin said.
Russian chief of staff Gen Valery Gerasimov said that 430 Ukrainian troops had been captured and Putin called them “terrorists.”
Ukraine military commander-in-chief Gen Oleksandr Syrsky indicated that some forces in Kursk were pulling back to “more favorable positions.”
Key events
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Russian operation in Kursk is in final stage, Kremlin claims, as US negotiators head to Moscow
Russia’s operation to eject Ukrainian forces from the western Russian region of Kursk has entered its final stage, state news agency Tass reported on Thursday, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday visited Kursk for the first time since Ukrainian forces seized some territory in the region.
The news comes as US president Donald Trump said on Wednesday that negotiators were headed to Russia “right now” for talks on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine, after Kyiv agreed to a 30-day truce.
Trump did not give further details, but the White House later said that his special envoy Steve Witkoff was going to Moscow later this week.
Trump would not say when he would next speak to Putin, but added that “I hope he’s going to have a ceasefire.” “It’s up to Russia now,” said the US president.
Ukraine is increasingly suffering on the battlefield, losing ground in the east and south of the country, where officials said eight people were killed on Wednesday.
Russia has also reclaimed territory in its western Kursk region, pushing back Ukrainian troops who staged a shock offensive last August.
Putin was shown on Russian television visiting troops in Kursk on Wednesday.
“I am counting on the fact that all the combat tasks facing our units will be fulfilled, and the territory of the Kursk region will soon be completely liberated from the enemy,” Putin said.
Russian chief of staff Gen Valery Gerasimov said that 430 Ukrainian troops had been captured and Putin called them “terrorists.”
Ukraine military commander-in-chief Gen Oleksandr Syrsky indicated that some forces in Kursk were pulling back to “more favorable positions.”
Opening summary
Russia’s operation to eject Ukrainian forces from the western Russian region of Kursk has entered its final stage, state news agency Tass reported on Thursday, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday visited Kursk for the first time since Ukrainian forces seized some territory in the region.
The news comes as US president Donald Trump said on Wednesday that negotiators were headed to Russia “right now” for talks on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine, after Kyiv agreed to a 30-day truce.
Trump did not give further details, but the White House later said that his special envoy Steve Witkoff was going to Moscow later this week.
Trump would not say when he would next speak to Putin, but added that “I hope he’s going to have a ceasefire.” “It’s up to Russia now,” said the US president.
Here are the other key recent developments:
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Ukraine’s army commander-in-chief, Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, suggested his troops were pulling back to minimise losses in Kursk. “In the most difficult situation, my priority has been and remains saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. To this end, the units of the defence forces, if necessary, manoeuvre to more favourable positions,” Syrski posted online, in terms typically used to describe a withdrawal.
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Syrskyi said the Russian military was suffering huge personnel and equipment losses while trying to achieve “political gains” by attempting to oust Ukrainian troops. Sudzha is the largest settlement that Ukraine seized in Kursk, and the Ukraine-based Deep State open-source mapping project showed earlier on Wednesday that Kyiv was no longer in full control of it. “The enemy is using assault units of airborne troops and special operations forces to break through our defences, oust our troops out of the Kursk region and move fighting to the territory of Sumy and Kharkiv regions,” Syrskyi said.
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Kyiv was doing “as much as possible” to protect its soldiers. “The Russians are clearly trying to put maximum pressure on our troops, and our military command is doing what it has to do,” the Ukrainian president told a press conference in Kyiv. “We are preserving the lives of our soldiers as much as possible.”
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Donald Trump suggested he could target Russia financially as Ukraine’s president urged him to take strong steps if Moscow failed to support a 30-day ceasefire agreed between Ukrainian and US delegations meeting in Saudi Arabia. Washington, Kyiv and Europe are waiting for Moscow’s response to the proposal, and US envoys are expected to hold talks with Putin by the end of the week. The Kremlin has not publicly said whether or not it supports an immediate ceasefire. If Putin refuses, Trump said he could “do things financially that would be very bad for Russia”.
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Zelenskyy said he expected strong measures from the Washington if Russia rejected the ceasefire proposal. “I understand that we can count on strong steps. I don’t know the details yet but we are talking about sanctions [against Russia] and strengthening Ukraine.”
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The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said Washington wanted Moscow’s agreement with no strings attached. “That’s what we want to know – if they’re prepared to do it unconditionally,” Rubio said on a plane heading to a G7 meeting in Canada. “If the response is yes, then we know we’ve made real progress, and there’s a real chance of peace. If their response is no, it would be highly unfortunate, and it’ll make their intentions clear.”
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The US threats came as the French defence minister, Sébastien Lecornu, told a press conference in Paris that a ceasefire announcement could come as soon as Thursday and that Europe would have to be prepared to help enforce it. Defence ministers from Europe’s five leading military powers – the UK, Germany, Italy, Poland and France – met in the French capital on Wednesday to discuss the formation of a “reassurance force” that would guarantee peace in Ukraine if a settlement was agreed. Lecornu said they were “hoping to see a ceasefire tomorrow” and that 15 countries were willing to contribute to a force of up to 30,000 personnel that would permanently secure Ukraine’s airports, ports and infrastructure.