Nearly nine months after losing chunks of the Kursk region to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia has announced that its troops have fully reclaimed the border territory

Ukraine had hoped it could use the land it had seized in the Kursk region as a bargaining chip in future peace talks with Russia, which launched its full invasion in 2022 and has currently controls around 20% of Ukraine's internationally-recognised territory.

Russia has regained control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.

Kyiv is working with allies on security guarantees akin to NATO's mutual protection pledge, Ukraine's president Volodymr Zelensky has said. Officials from Ukraine and allies the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany met in London on Thursday in a week when a peace proposal was produced which outlined an Article 5-like agreement which would be backed by Washington.

The president’s comments came after he said Crimea “will stay with Russia,” a position backed by the mayor of Kyiv, who conceded that his country may have to give up territory.

Moscow and Washington seem close to an agreement on a Ukraine peace plan, leaving Russia pleased – even if the talks don’t pan out.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was not happy with Russia's strikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv overnight and said without elaborating the U.S. was putting a lot of pressure on Russia to make a deal.