The Kremlin claims that Ukrainian troops were taken out of Kursk

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The Kremlin claimed that all Ukrainian troops were withdrawn from the Russian region of Kursk and for the first time confirmed the role of North Korean soldiers in battles.

Valery Gerasimov, Chief of Staff, told President Vladimir Putin on Saturday that Ukraine’s forces in Kursk were repelled nine months after their unexpected invasion – which became the first foreign army in the Russian territory after the Second World War. Gerasimov claimed that Ukraine suffered “huge losses”.

“The adventure of the Kiev regime has completely failed,” Putin said in a carefully organized video, which aired on state television.

Ukraine contradicted the Russian version of events; A high official told Financial Times that Putin’s claim was “stupid”. The official insisted that Kiev’s forces still still hold the soil in the Kursk region, although the number of the territory it controls has decreased to about 30 square meters.

The Kremlin’s demand came when US President Donald Trump and President of Ukraine Volodimir Zelensky briefly met in the Vatican before Pope Francis’ funeral. It was the first time they saw each other since their explosive meeting in the oval office in February.

Trump said Russia and Ukraine were “very close” to agree on the transaction after his special messenger Steve Witcof met Putin in Moscow for the fourth round of negotiations on Friday.

But on Saturday, in a report of social truth after meeting with Zelenskyy, the US president questioned Putin’s readiness to stop the war. “There was no reason for Putin to take rockets to civil areas, cities and cities in the last few days,” he wrote.

“It makes me think that he may not want to stop the war, he just listens to me, and he needs to fight with the” banking “or secondary sanctions? “Too many people die !!!”

Putin was calling on Saturday. “The complete defeat of the enemy in the Kursk border zone creates the conditions for further successful actions of our troops in other important areas of the front,” he said Gerasimov.

Gerasimov praised the North Korean troops for courage, saying that they fought a “shoulder to shoulder” with their Russian companions. According to Ukrainian, South Korean, South Korean and US governments, more than 12,000 North Korean troops were posted. Moscow has not officially recognized their presence before.

The General Staff of Ukraine stated that the Russian claims “do not meet the reality”, calling them “propaganda order” and “desirable thinking”.

It states that his “defensive operation … in some areas in the Kursk region continues.” “The operating situation is difficult, but our units continue to engage in certain positions and perform the assigned tasks, while effective damage to the enemy fire from all types of weapons, including active defense tactics.”

It states that five enemy attacks were pushed out and another battle was pursued, adding that there was no threat to the surrounding units, which also remain present in the neighboring Russian region of Belgrod. However, this operation is small compared to Kursk; Zelensky said the goal is to create a “buffer zone” to prevent future Russian attacks from the region.

Ukraine shocked Russia in August last year, when its forces invaded the border in Kursk, seizing an element of surprise to bring the war home to Russia, to take hundreds of prisoners of war and a piece of land, including the city of Sudge.

The army was ready to take risks, trying to take advantage of the impulse on the battlefield. While it increased to moral and led to the exit of hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war, the Zelensky goal is to hold on to the territory when the branched chip flared.

On Saturday, Russian officials gave North Korea a great merit for their role in pushing Ukraine’s troops, and Gerasimov praised his troops for “heroism” in battle.

North Korean soldiers have found success in the attack on the Ukrainian frontline in small groups supported by artillery and air support. They quickly became known for their determination and loyalty to their leader Kim Zhenun. Ukraine captured two who remain in prison in Kiev.

Pyongyang also provided Moscow with more than 200 internal products out of 170 mm m1989, which self-promoted howitzers and updated the 240 mm missile systems to fight in the Kursk region, reports Ukrainian intelligence, which is shared with FT.

“We will never forget our friends,” Russian Foreign Ministry press secretary Maria Zakharova wrote in Pyongyang’s deposit.