The bold campaign Ukraine launched last summer to seize and occupy Russian territory appears to be nearing an end.

Ukrainian forces have pulled almost entirely out of the Kursk region of Russia, ending an offensive that had stunned the Kremlin over the summer with its speed and audacity.

The Russian claim that it had recaptured Sudzha could not be independently verified and Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment. Ukrainian forces crossed into Russia last year and captured several settlements,