All Ukrainian troops have been forced from parts of Russia’s Kursk region, which Moscow lost control of last year to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia’s top general said in a Kremlin meeting Saturday.

Ukraine denied that it had been pushed out of the region and said that its military operations inside Russia were continuing.

Nearly nine months after losing chunks of the Kursk region to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia has announced that its troops have fully reclaimed the border territory.

Kyiv is working with allies on security guarantees akin to NATO's mutual protection pledge, Ukraine's president Volodymr Zelensky has said. Officials from Ukraine and allies the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany met in London on Thursday in a week when a peace proposal was produced which outlined an Article 5-like agreement which would be backed by Washington.

The president’s comments came after he said Crimea “will stay with Russia,” a position backed by the mayor of Kyiv, who conceded that his country may have to give up territory.

Trump criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for “shooting missiles into civilian areas” in a post on Truth Social Saturday morning, hours after he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he is beginning to question whether Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end the Russia-Ukraine war, a warning shot to the Russian leader that came just after Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Rome.

President Donald Trump has expressed doubts that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end its war with Ukraine which has raged for more than three years.

A senior Central Intelligence Agency official’s son who had joined the Russian military was killed last year during an offensive in eastern Ukraine. The agency said it was a private tragedy and not a national security issue.