As momentum builds for a ceasefire with Russia , Ukraine has all but lost a valuable bargaining chip. The Ukrainian army stunned Russia in August by attacking across the border and taking control of an estimated 1,

President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to Russia’s occupied Kursk region on Wednesday, as the Kremlin considers a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with his troops closing in on Ukraine’s only territorial bargaining chip.

Russian troops are on the verge of recapturing all territory seized by Ukraine in an offensive in Kursk last summer, imparting an air of crisis to calls by US President Donald Trump for a 30-day ceasefire in the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine.

Russia said on Thursday there was no doubt that its troops would soon complete the task of clearing out Ukrainian forces from Russia's Kursk region where they have held a pocket of territory for more than seven months.

By Steve Holland, Dmitry Antonov and Andrew Osborn WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump urged Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday to spare Ukrainian troops being pushed back out of Russia's Kursk region and said there was a "very good chance" the war could end.

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.