Kyiv denies Russia’s claim of Kursk Oblast recapture, as Moscow confirms North Korea role

Russian forces have fully recaptured the territory of Kursk Oblast, the Russian border region partially held by Ukraine since last August, the Kremlin claimed on April 26 in a statement later disputed by Kyiv.

"Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov reported to Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin on the completion of the operation to liberate Kursk Oblast," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency.

Ukraine has denied the claim, saying that Russia's statements "do not correspond to reality."

"Ukrainian defensive operations in certain areas of Kursk Oblast continue," Ukraine's General Staff said, adding that Kyiv's forces repelled five Russian ground assaults in the area on April 26, with another clash currently ongoing.

"The situation is difficult, but our units continue to hold certain positions and carry out tasks as assigned," the statement read, noting that there is no threat of encirclement. A military source also told the Kyiv Independent that Kyiv continues to hold territories in Kursk Oblast.

For the first time, Gerasimov also acknowledged the participation of North Korean troops in the campaign, praising their "fortitude and heroism." Kyiv and Seoul have previously said that North Korea has dispatched around 11,000 troops to Kursk Oblast, though Moscow has not openly confirmed this until now.

Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024, marking the first large-scale invasion of Russian territory by foreign forces since World War II. The operation aimed to disrupt a planned Russian offensive on the neighboring Sumy Oblast and draw Russian forces away from the embattled Donbas region.

Russia launched a push to recapture the region in early March, with Ukraine being forced to pull back from much of the initially taken territory, including the town of Sudzha.

As of April 25, Ukrainian battlefield monitoring service DeepState showed Ukrainian forces holding onto limited positions in Kursk Oblast near the border, namely the villages of Oleshnya and Gornal.

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The Kyiv IndependentAsami Terajima