Russia says it has fully retaken Kursk, but Ukraine says fighting continues

Ukraine dismisses report of Kursk loss as a ‘propaganda ‘trick’.

Russia said its forces have completely recaptured the embattled Kursk region, eight months after Ukraine’s military stormed into the Russian territory in a surprise counteroffensive, but Ukrainian officials quickly rejected the claim.

Russia’s military Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov made the declaration during a video conference with President Vladimir Putin Saturday, saying Russian troops had “liberated” the last village in Kursk under Ukrainian control: Gornal.

“The Kyiv regime’s adventure has completely failed,” Putin told Gerasimov.

Ukraine’s military immediately disputed the claim, saying its soldiers are still operating in parts of Kursk.

“Statements by the enemy leadership about the ‘defeat’ of the Ukrainian troops are nothing more than propaganda tricks,” said Ukraine’s chief of staff in a post on Telegram.

However, he acknowledged Ukraine’s battlefield position in the territory – where Russian forces have made steady gains in recent months – is “difficult”.

Russian soldiers ride atop a self-propelled gun at an area in Russia’s Kursk region after retaking it from Ukraine’s military, March 14 [Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP]

Kyiv has sought to use its hold on land in Kursk as leverage in future peace talks with Russia, which has seized parts of eastern and southern Ukraine since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Moscow praises ‘heroism’ of North Korean troops

Announcing the Russian advance, Gerasimov also paid tribute to North Korean troops fighting alongside Russians – the first official acknowledgement by Moscow of their role in the conflict.

He praised the “heroism” of North Korean soldiers in Kursk, saying they “provided significant assistance in defeating the group of Ukrainian armed forces”.

According to South Korean and Western intelligence agencies, more than 10,000 soldiers from North Korea were sent to Russia last year to help Moscow fight Ukraine’s forces there.

Ukraine claims it has captured and interrogated several of the North Korean soldiers fighting in the territory.

The claimed Russian recapture of Kursk came as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed efforts to reach a “full and unconditional ceasefire” with United States President Donald Trump on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral at the Vatican.

The Kremlin on Saturday also said Putin is ready to “resume negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions”.

Russian troops are now at the border and are poised to beef up threats to the Ukrainian region of Sumy, where Moscow has carried out incursions in recent weeks.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies