Ukrainian officials have not confirmed a retreat from the town in Russia’s Kursk region, parts of which were captured by Kyiv’s forces last summer.

Russian forces have recaptured Sudzha, the largest town that Ukraine once occupied in the Kursk region, according to Moscow, threatening Kyiv’s sole territorial bargaining chip amid pressure to negotiate an end to the war.

Russian forces have seized Sudzha in the Kursk region and are engaged in combat with the Ukrainian Armed Forces in border villages of the Sumy region. The Russian army may attempt to create a buffer zone near the Russian-Ukrainian border,