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 troops are reported to be gaining ground in the Kursk area from where Ukraine soldiers are withdrawing