Kyiv, Ukraine (AP) – All Ukrainian troops were forced by certain parts of the Russian region Kursk, which Moscow lost control from last year to a surprise Ukrainian foray, said on a Kremlin meeting on Saturday. Ukrainian officials have denied the complaint.
Valery Gerasimov, chief of staff general of the Russian armed forces, gave Russian president Vladimir Putin on Saturday at a meeting, the Russian state interfax media told Peskov.
In a statement, Putin congratulated Russian soldiers and commanders and said that the kyiv foray has “completely failed”.
“The complete defeat of our enemy along the border region of Kursk creates the right conditions for new successes for our troops and in other important areas on the front,” he said.
Ukrainian officials, however, said that fighting continued. “The declarations of the representatives of the high command of the country of aggressor on the end of hostilities in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation are not true,” the general staff of Ukraine said on Saturday.
“The defensive functioning of the Ukrainian defense forces in certain regions of the Kursk region continues. The operational situation is difficult, but our units continue to have designated positions and carry out assigned tasks, while inflicting effective shooting damage to the enemy with all types of weapons, including the use of active defense tactics, “he added.
The Ukrainian army Amazing Russia In August 2024 by attacking through the border and taking control of approximately 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of land. The country’s leaders thought that the capture of the Russian territory could help any future peace negotiations, but their gains were slowly eroded and the Ukrainian troops continued to lose control of the territory at the beginning of 2025.
Gerasimov also confirmed on Saturday that North Korean soldiers fought against Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region in Russia. Gerasimov said they had participated in “the shoulder of shoulder combat missions with Russian soldiers during the reparation of the Ukrainian foray” and “demonstrated great professionalism, shown courage, courage and heroism in combat”.
In the fall, Ukraine, the United States and South Korea all declared that North Korea, which had previously provided weapons in Moscow, had deployed 10,000 to 12,000 of its troops to Russia to fight in Kursk.
Until now, Moscow and Pyongyang have so far responded vaguely to the South Korean and Western affirmations of the Deployment of troopsStressing that their military cooperation is in accordance with international law, without directly admitting the presence of North Korean forces in Russia.
The news comes as American President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in the Vatican city on the sidelines of the Pope’s funeral to discuss a potential cease-fire agreement.
The presidents gathered at the Saint-Pierre Basilica for about 15 minutes, said spokesperson for the Ukrainian presidential election Serhii Nykyforov. Zelenskyy’s office initially declared that the two leaders would continue negotiations later on Saturday, but NykyForov later told journalists that there would be no second meeting due to the tight schedules of the presidents.
During the meeting, the two parties discussed key questions on the path of peace, a source told the Associated Press. The conversation was described as very constructive, the two sides ready to move quickly.
Shortly after his arrival in Rome on Friday, Trump said on social networks that Ukraine and Russia should Meeting for “very high lectures” By finishing the three -year war launched by the invasion of Russia. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, met Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Friday, and Trump said the two parties were “very close to an agreement”. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said on Saturday that Putin said Witkoff in Russia was ready to negotiate with kyiv without any prior condition.
But less than 24 hours later, Trump said that he doubted Putin’s desire to end the war.
“There was no reason why Putin pulled missiles in civil, cities and cities, in the past few days. It makes me think that he may not want to stop war, he simply makes me hit and must be treated differently, by “bank” or “secondary sanctions? Too many people die !!! “He said in an article on Truth Social.
Three people were killed during the night by Russian attacks across Ukraine, local officials announced on Saturday.
Two people died in a strike on the city of Yarova in the Donetk Eastern region of Ukraine, said local governor Vadym Filashkin in an article on social networks. Another person died in the Dnipropetrovsk region, said Gov Serhiy Lysak. Six people were injured, including an 88-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl, he said.
Russia launched three missiles and 114 drones during Ukraine during the night, wrote in a statement on Saturday. Sixty-six drones were destroyed and 31 other lure drones did not reach their destination.
Meanwhile, the Russian air defenses shot 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, the country’s defense ministry said.
Zelenskyy also met French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the funeral. Later, he met Starmer at the residence of the British ambassador in Rome.
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Davies reported in Manchester, England. Volodymyr Yurchuk in kyiv, Ukraine and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed.
