Thousands of Ukrainian troops who stormed into Russia's Kursk region last summer in a shock incursion are nearly surrounded by Russian forces there, in a major blow to Kyiv which hoped to use its presence there as leverage over Moscow in any peace talks.

Russia said on Thursday there was no doubt that its troops would soon complete the task of clearing out Ukrainian forces from Russia's Kursk region where they have held a pocket of territory for more than seven months.

Moscow’s military advances on the town of Sudzha may deprive Kyiv of a bargaining chip in peace talks. Russian forces have begun an assault on the town of Sudzha, the main population center in the Kursk region that was captured by Ukraine last year,