Kiev's General Staff shows troop withdrawal from Sudzha on map

The report only stated that there had been 20 battles in the Kursk region on Friday. Russia had carried out 19 air strikes, dropped 28 bombs and fired 232 artillery shells. The information provided by the warring parties cannot be independently verified.

The Moscow Ministry of Defense had already announced on Thursday that Russian forces had recaptured the small town, which Ukrainian troops had occupied for a good seven months.

In a surprise advance in August, Ukraine had taken the war into Russian territory and occupied parts of the region. Sudzha was considered Ukraine's most important conquest in Russia. Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion for more than three years with Western help.