Russia claims

All Ukrainian troops were forced to withdraw Kursk region of Russiathe Russian military advocated.

Valerie. Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Gerasimov posted news to President Vladimir Putin at a meeting on Saturday.

“Today, the last reconciliation in the Kursk region, the village of Gornar has been liberated from Ukrainian troops,” according to AFP.

Ukrainian officials did not confirm the request. In a Saturday morning update, Ukraine's General Staff said its troops continued to block Russian troops from the Kursk sector, opposing Russia's claims that Ukraine had completely evacuated from the territory.

Putin congratulated Russian soldiers and commanders in a statement, saying that the invasion in Kiev was “completely failed.”

“The complete defeat of the enemy along the Kursk border area has achieved further success for our troops and other important areas of the front line, creating the right conditions for us,” he said.

Ukraine launches Bold offensive enters the Kursk region on the border Last August, even Western allies were caught off guard, causing an embarrassing blow to Moscow. It controls an estimated 500 square miles of land. Ukraine had hoped that controlling Russian territory would give it leverage in any future ceasefire negotiations. However, their gains gradually eroded, and the Ukrainian army continued to lose control of the territory throughout early 2025.

Now, Russian troops are on the border and are expected to strengthen their threats to the Sumi region in Kursk.

Gerasimov also confirmed that on Saturday, North Korean soldiers fought against Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region of Russia. Jerasimov said they participated in a “combat mission to perform combat with Russian soldiers during the fight against the Ukrainian invasion” and “expressed a high degree of professionalism, showing perseverance, courage and heroism in combat”.

In the fall, Ukraine, the United States and South Korea say that North Korea, which had previously provided weapons to Moscow, has already 10,000-12,000 troops were deployed Go to Russia to fight in Kursk.

So far, Moscow and Pyongyang have been vague in response to South Korea and the West’s claims on force deployment, stressing that their military cooperation is in line with international law without directly recognizing North Korea’s presence in Russia.

Kursk news is US President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Meet in Vatican Off the field Funeral of Pope Francis.

Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nykyforov said the two presidents met for about 15 minutes at St. Peter's Basilica and agreed to continue negotiations later Saturday.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung also confirmed the meeting, saying they “meeted privately today and had a very productive discussion.”

Shortly after the pope's funeral, Mr. Trump left Italy for the United States

Steve Witkoff of the Middle East met with Putin on Friday, and Mr. Trump said both sides were “very close to the deal.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said In an interview with “The Country Facing Margaret Brennan” The Kremlin is already “preparing for an agreement”, although he also said “fine-tuning” is needed.

“The President of the United States believes that I think we are moving in the right direction,” Lavrov said.

Meanwhile, in a statement Friday night, Zelenskyy said there could be a “very important meeting” in the coming days and an unconditional ceasefire is required.

“There is a real pressure on Russia so that they accept the U.S. proposal to stop the fire and move towards peace toward peace, or our proposal (either one can really work hard and ensure a reliable, immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and then a dignified assurance of peace and security,” he said.