Russia says it has completely reclaimed the Kursk region, Ukraine says it is still fighting – the country
Russia's top general said at a Kremlin meeting on Saturday that all Ukrainian troops were forced to get from part of Russia's Kursk region, Moscow lost its surprise for the Ukrainian invasion. Ukrainian officials denied the claim.
Peskov told Russian state news media Interfax that Russian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov gave Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting on Saturday.
Putin congratulated Russian soldiers and commanders in a statement, saying that the invasion in Kiev was “completely failed.”
He said: “The complete defeat of the enemy along the Kursk border area has created the right conditions for further success in our troops and other important areas of the front.”
However, Ukrainian officials said the fight continues. “The statement of representatives of the senior commander of the invaders' state said that the end of hostilities in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation is incorrect,” the Ukrainian General Staff said on Saturday.
“The Ukrainian Defence Force's defense operations in certain areas of the Kursk region continue. Operations are difficult, but our troops continue to hold designated positions and perform designated tasks while using various types of weapons to cause effective fire damage to the enemy, including the use of active defense strategies,” it added.
Ukrainian troops attacked Russia by attacking the border in August 2024 and controlled an estimated 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of land. The country's leaders believe that the occupation of Russian territory may help any future peace negotiations, but their gains are gradually eroding and Ukrainian troops continue to lose control of the territory in early 2025.
Gerasimov also confirmed that on Saturday, North Korean soldiers fought against Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region of Russia. Gerasimov said they participated in “fighting alongside the combat missions of Russian soldiers during the Ukrainian invasion” and “expressed a high degree of professionalism, showing perseverance, courage and heroism in the fight”.
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In the fall, Ukraine, the United States and South Korea say that North Korea, which previously provided weapons to Moscow, has deployed its 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia to fight in Kursk.
So far, Moscow and Pyongyang have been vague in response to South Korea and the West’s claims on force deployment, stressing that their military cooperation is in line with international law without directly recognizing North Korea’s presence in Russia.
The news comes as U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discuss a potential ceasefire agreement.
Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nykyforov said the president met for about 15 minutes at St. Peter's Basilica. Zelenskyy's office initially said the two leaders would continue negotiations late Saturday, but Nykyforov later told reporters that there would be no second meeting due to the president's tight schedule.
During the meeting, both sides discussed key issues, a source told the Associated Press. The dialogue was described as very constructive, with both parties ready to move quickly.
Shortly after arriving in Rome on Friday, Trump said on social media that Ukraine and Russia should meet to participate in “very high-level negotiations” to end the three-year war triggered by the Russian invasion. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Friday, and Trump said the two sides were “very close to the deal.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that Putin had told Witkoff Russia was ready to negotiate with Kyiv without any premise.
But less than 24 hours later, Trump said he suspected Putin was willing to end the war.
“In the past few days, Putin has no reason to fire missiles into civilian areas, towns. It makes me think maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just laughing at me and having to deal with different issues through “banking” or “secondary sanctions”?” Too many people are dying! ! ! ” he said in an article about the Society of Truth.
Ukraine was killed overnight by three people in a Russian attack, local officials said Saturday.
Local Governor Vadym Filashkin said in a social media article that the two died in a strike in the town of Yarova in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Gov Serhiy Lysak said another person died in the Dnipropetrovsk area. He said six people were injured, including an 88-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl.
Russia launched three missiles and 114 drones in Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force wrote in a statement on Saturday. Sixty-six drones were destroyed, and another 31 decoy drones failed to reach their destination.
Meanwhile, the country's defense ministry said Russian air defense hit 45 Ukrainian drones.
Zelenskyy also met with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the funeral. Later, he met Starmer at the residence of the British Ambassador to Rome.
& Copy 2025 Canadian Press
