Rudskoi said Russia now controlled 75 per cent of Ukraine's Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and more than 99 per cent of the Luhansk region. He said the four regions are now legally part of Russia and will never be returned to Ukraine.

Russian forces have recaptured over 800 square kilometers (309 square miles) in the Kursk region, reclaiming about 64% of the territory Ukraine had

Colonel-general Sergei Rudskoi told a newspaper that Moscow had pushed Kyiv into a defensive stance since February last year.

Russia's army has retaken control of 64% of Kursk region territory initially captured by Ukrainian forces after they launched a surprise offensive in the border region last year, a senior Russian military official said Thursday.