At the height of the campaign, Ukrainian forces controlled some 500 square miles of Russian territory. Now they hold just a small sliver of land along the border.

Kostенко explained that Ukraine's position in Kursk Oblast had always been difficult, becoming even more so months after Ukrainian forces initially captured parts of the territory. Roman Kostensko Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security,

Kyiv troops withdraw from Kursk town as Moscow closes in on recapturing region - Ukraine is rapidly losing ground in the Kursk region amid a major Russian offensive to recapture land