President Zelenskiy said his troops in Kursk were not surrounded, but said there might be a new Russian attack on Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region.

At the height of the campaign, Ukrainian forces controlled some 500 square miles of Russian territory. Now they hold just a small sliver of land along the border.

Ukrainian troops sprang one of the biggest surprises of the war by invading Russia's Kursk region last August, and Russia has taken more than seven months to eject them.

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

Russia has sharply escalated its rhetoric against the West’s growing interest in deploying peacekeeping troops to Ukraine, warning that any such presence would be treated as direct involvement in the conflict — with what it ominously called “all the consequences” for participating countries.

The Kremlin is likely preparing to strengthen its narrative about alleged "war crimes" by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region. Russia may investigate several targets, one of which is to disrupt or delay negotiations regarding a 30-day ceasefire,