Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country recovered control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, although the Ukrainian army states that the fighting continues.
“The adventure of the Kiev regime failed completely,” Putin said on Saturday (26), congratulating the Russian forces that, he said, defeated the Ukrainian military in the region, which would be a symbolic impulse to Moscow at a crucial point of war.
But the Ukraine Armed Forces Staff wrote in a publication on Telegram that Putin’s statement about the end of hostilities in Kursk “was not true.”
“The defensive operation of the Ukrainian defense forces in the areas designated in the Kursk region continues. The operational situation is difficult, but our units continue to maintain their positions and perform the tasks assigned to them,” said the publication on Telegram.
THE CNN It cannot independently verify the reports of the battlefield, but both sides have struggled to get advances in other areas of the front line.
Kiev launched his raid on Kursk in August, rapidly capturing the territory in the one that was Russia’s first earth’s invasion of a foreign power since World War II.
Since then, Russia, with the support of North Korean soldiers, struggles to expel the Ukrainian forces from their borders, while Kiev has invested precious resources to maintain their territory, with the aim of using it as a fundamental currency in any peace negotiations.
The operation was also launched to relieve pressure from the Eastern front line in conflict.
In his speech, Putin stated that Kursk’s recapture “creates conditions for new successful actions of our troops in other important front areas.”
In a publication on Telegram, Valery Gerasimov, head of the Russian staff, thanked the North Korean soldiers, praising their “high professionalism, firmness, courage and heroism in battle.”
Ukrainian authorities and western intelligence reports found that about 12,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to fight in Russia.
Local authorities are working to restore “peaceful life” in Kursk, Gerasimov said, while the region is being unimpeded and destroyed unstructured ammunition.
Forest areas, basements and abandoned buildings are being verified in search of any remaining Ukrainian soldiers, he added.
If Putin’s allegations are true, hopes of using Kursk as a bargaining currency is over and the removal of Ukraine has the potential to undermine Kiev’s political influence, as well as the morale of his military after three years of war and with efforts to achieve peace.
Although the United States has tried to intermediate peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in recent months, tensions between the leaders of the three countries have made very little realize.
In another turbulent week of diplomacy, US President Donald Trump accused Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky of making it “very difficult to resolve this war” for refusing to accept Crimea’s attachment by Russia, but then said Russia and Ukraine were “very close to an agreement.”
New conversations
On the morning of Saturday (26), at the funeral of the late Pope Francis at the Vatican, Zelensky met briefly with Trump for conversations about potential peace negotiations.
A White House spokesman classified the meeting as “productive,” while the Ukrainian thanked the Republican for the meeting, writing in the X that it “has the potential to become historical if we achieve joint results.”
Good Meeting. We Discussed A Lot One On One. Hoping for results on Everything We Covered. Protecting Lives of Our People. FULL AND UNCONDITIONAL CEASEFIRE. RELIBLE AND LASTING PEACE that Will Prevent Another War from Breaking Out. Very Symbolic Meeting that has potential to… pic.twitter.com/Q4ZHVXCJW0
– Volodymyr Zelensky / володимир зеленсььий (@zelenskyua) April 26, 2025
A few hours later, on Saturday afternoon, Trump raised the possibility of applying new sanctions to Russia for launching a deadly wave of attacks on Kiev last week.
“There was no reason for Putin to shoot missiles against civilian areas, cities and villages in recent days,” Trump wrote in a social trize publication.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop war, he’s just encouraging me and needs to be treated differently through ‘banks’ or ‘secondary sanctions’? Many people are dying !!!”
This content was originally published in Russia says it resumed the invaded region of Kursk; Ukraine denies a statement on the CNN Brazil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
