Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that his country has regained control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, though Ukraine’s army says fighting continues.

Russia's success removes another barrier to a peace deal Moscow was reluctant to conclude with so many enemy troops on its soil.

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed on Saturday what he called the complete failure of an offensive by Ukrainian forces into Russia's Kursk region after they were expelled from the last village Moscow said they had been holding.