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The Russian Ministry of Defense said Thursday that its forces have regained control of Sudzha, the largest town in the Kursk region held by Ukrainian forces for the past six months.
Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Silsky confirmed the previous night that Ukrainian forces had pulled back from parts of the Kursk region and that Russians had entered Sudaschha, but said the fight on the outskirts of the town was continuing.
Ukrainian President Voldimia Zelensky said the military commanders in the region “do what it should be – to preserve the lives of our soldiers as much as possible.”
Kursk's prominent Russian attacks, supported by North Korean forces, have intensified in recent weeks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Command Post in Kursk on Wednesday. He ordered the Ukrainian troops to be driven out of the region in “as short as possible.”
Moscow's rapid push to recapture the area first seized by Ukrainian forces in August comes as Russian and US officials prepare for another meeting to discuss the end of the war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday that the US and Russia will hold talks after Kiev agreed to a first 30-day ceasefire in a meeting with Saudi Arabian US officials this week.
According to Blightradar24, the plane carrying US President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkov, has landed in Moscow. Witkov, who met Putin in Moscow last month, spoke on the phone with Yuri Ushakov, the Russian president's foreign policy adviser, Peskov, on Wednesday.
Russia said it would not accept a halt of hostility in Ukraine, which does not include a formal and final reconciliation of the three-year invasion. Peskov said it was too early for the Russian position to say what it will do at the time of consultation, according to Interfax.
