Russia claims gains in Kursk against Ukrainian forces

KYIV — Russia said on Saturday its troops had retaken three villages seized by Ukraine in its Kursk border region, in a fresh setback for Kyiv ahead of talks to try to end the conflict.

"In all directions of the Kursk section of the front, all units have launched a large-scale offensive," Major General Apti Alaudinov, commander of a Chechen unit in Kursk, said on Telegram. "The enemy is abandoning its positions."

Russia's Defense Ministry announced the recapture of three more villages: Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina.

According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a "breach" in the Ukrainian defense lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv's control.

The advance appears to have cut off the logistics route needed by Ukraine to supply its troops, though Kyiv has not confirmed this.

Ukrainian troops stormed into Kursk last summer, taking chunks of territory in an unexpected lightning attack. Russia has taken back more than two-thirds of the territory Ukraine initially seized in Kursk.

The Ukrainian military General Staff said on Saturday that clashes were continuing amid heavy bombardment with artillery and guided aerial bombs.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its air defense units destroyed 88 Ukrainian drones overnight with no injuries or damage reported.

The ministry said 52 of the drones were destroyed over the border Belgorod region, while 13 were over the Lipetsk region and nine were over the Rostov region, both in Russia's southwest.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday named a high-level delegation, including foreign and defense ministers, to meet United States negotiators in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

"We hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps," Zelensky said, stressing that Ukraine was "fully committed to constructive dialogue".

He also urged allies to "increase sanctions against Russia" after heavy overnight bombardment in the east and northeast.

A Russian barrage hit the center of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region on Friday, killing 11 people, including five children, and wounding 40, emergency services said.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry said on Saturday that three civilians were killed and seven wounded in a separate drone attack on the Kharkiv region in the northeast.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump threatened new sanctions and tariffs against Russia over its bombardment of Ukraine.

Agencies via Xinhua