Ukrainian officials have not confirmed a retreat from the town in Russia’s Kursk region, parts of which were captured by Kyiv’s forces last summer.

Russian forces have recaptured Sudzha, the largest town that Ukraine once occupied in the Kursk region, according to Moscow, threatening Kyiv’s sole territorial bargaining chip amid pressure to negotiate an end to the war.

Russia said it expelled Ukrainian troops from a key town in the Kursk region ahead of talks with the US, bringing President Vladimir Putin closer to his goal of completely dislodging Kyiv’s forces from his country.