Russia Claims Control of Additional Villages in the Kursk Border Offensive

On Saturday, Russia announced that it had regained control over two additional villages from Ukrainian forces in the Kursk border area, where it has initiated an offensive to reclaim territory that was previously taken.

Throughout the week, Moscow has been actively working to reclaim a significant portion of the land originally captured by Ukraine in the western part of Kursk.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its troops had seized the villages of Zaoleshenka and Rubanshchina, located north and west of Sudzha, which is the primary town that Moscow has recaptured this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin urged the beleaguered Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region to «surrender,» while U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Kremlin to ensure their safety.

Putin stated on Friday, «If they lay down their weapons and surrender, their lives and dignity will be protected.»

In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed claims of any encirclement of his troops by Russian forces in Kursk, following Trump’s earlier assertion.

«There is no encirclement of our forces,» Zelensky remarked on social media, emphasizing, «Our troops continue to counter Russian and North Korean units in the Kursk region.»

On Saturday, the Ukrainian military released a map via social media indicating that its forces had retreated westward toward the border.