Russia claims it has regained full control of Kursk from Ukraine

Russia's army chief made the claims in a video meeting with President Vladimir Putin

Russia's military says it has regained full control of the country's western Kursk region - a claim denied by Ukraine.

Top Russian commander Valery Gerasimov said the last village held by Ukrainian troops had now been recaptured - eight months after Kyiv's surprise incursion.

He also praised the "heroism" of North Korean troops during a Russian counter-offensive, in what is the first time Russia has publicly acknowledged their involvement. Russian President Vladimir Putin described Ukraine's efforts in Kursk as a complete failure.

Ukraine says its troops are still conducting operations in the Russian border region, with the military describing Moscow's claims as "propaganda tricks".

Ukrainian forces have been in retreat in Kursk in recent months, facing 70,000 Russian troops and heavy drone attacks as part of Russia's drive to regain the territory.

In its latest report on 25 April, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think-tank said: "Russian forces recently advanced near the international border in Kursk Oblast [region] as part of efforts to push Ukrainian forces from their limited remaining positions in the area."

The ISW also reported that "fighting continued in [Russia's] north-western Belgorod Oblast [region] on 25 April".

During a video conference meeting with Putin on Saturday, Gerasimov said: "Today, the last settlement in the Kursk region, the village of Gornal, has been liberated from Ukrainian forces."

Gerasimov said more than 76,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and wounded in the Kursk region - a claim not verified independently.

He also praised North Korean troops for providing "significant assistance in defeating the group of Ukrainian armed forces".

"The Kyiv regime's adventure has completely failed," Putin told Gerasimov in response, claiming that it would pave the way for further Russian advances on other fronts.

Russia's military says its troops now control several settlements in Ukraine's north-eastern Sumy region, located next to Kursk.

Responding in a post on Telegram, the Ukrainian military's general staff said the situation on the battlefield was "difficult" - but insisted its forces were still holding positions in Kursk and were continuing an incursion in the Belgorod region, which lies immediately south of Kursk.

Ukraine's incursion was launched last August as an attempt to create a buffer zone on the border between the two countries that would prevent Russian forces from being deployed on Ukraine's eastern front line.

It comes a day after US President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine were "very close to a deal" on ending the war, following talks between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin this week.

But Trump on Saturday questioned Putin's willingness to end the war, referencing Russia's attacks on Kyiv earlier this week which killed at least 12 people and injured 90 others.

His comments followed a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Francis's funeral at the Vatican - their first face-to-face encounter since February's acrimonious Oval Office showdown.

The White House struck a more positive tone about Saturday's meeting, while Zelensky described the sit down as a "very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results".

Ukraine's leader told the BBC on Friday that he was pushing for a "full and unconditional ceasefire" before any deal was struck.

Kyiv has faced growing pressure from Trump to accept territorial concessions as part of any deal with Moscow to end fighting, which could reportedly include giving up the Crimean peninsula which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Zelensky has repeatedly rejected any such concessions.

Ukraine had hoped it could use the land it had seized in the Kursk region as a bargaining chip in future peace talks with Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion in 2022 and currently controls around 20% of Ukraine's internationally-recognised territory.