Moscow said it had retaken two villages outside the town of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region. Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the claim.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on Ukrainian troops in the Russian region of Kursk to surrender, as diplomatic back-and-forth continues over a potential US-brokered ceasefire with Ukraine.

Appearing to reference Russia ’s advance in the Kursk border region, Mr Trump said he had asked Vladimir Putin “not to kill those surrounded soldiers” of Ukraine. Mr Putin said Russian forces would spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk if Kyiv told them to surrender.