Russia Retakes Major Border Town as Ukraine Talks Loom

The area under Ukrainian control in Kursk has shrunk significantly since early February, based on data from the DeepState open-source map service

- Agencies

MOSCOW: Russia predicted on Thursday it would swiftly recapture the rest of its western Kursk region from Ukrainian troops who grabbed a foothold there last August and have clung on for more than seven months in one of the key battles of the war.

President Vladimir Putin is in a hurry to press ahead and capitalize on Russia's growing momentum in Kursk, even as the United States puts pressure on him to accept a 30-day cease-fire in the wider war, which Kyiv has accepted in principle. A Kremlin aide said the proposed truce would give Russia nothing, while providing a breathing space for Ukrainian forces.

In a sign of the Kremlin's growing confidence, Putin donned military uniform for a visit to his commanders in Kursk on Wednesday and told them to finish the job "in the shortest possible timeframe".

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday that Russian troops would take "as long as necessary to save the maximum number of lives of our military and civilians. But there is no doubt the Kursk region will be liberated soon enough."