Russia on Sunday battled to drive the last Ukrainian soldiers from western Russia after a seven-month incursion by Ukraine that aimed to distract Moscow’s forces, gain a bargaining chip and rile President Vladimir Putin.

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.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on Ukrainian troops in the Russian region of Kursk to surrender, as diplomatic back-and-forth continues over a potential US-brokered ceasefire with Ukraine.