Russian and North Korean soldiers have nearly deprived Kyiv of a key bargaining chip by retaking most of the region, where Ukrainian troops staged a surprise incursion last year.

Russia’s territorial gains in Ukraine are slowing down dramatically, two analyses have found, continuing a pattern from 2024 at a time when both nations are trying to project strength in the face of United States-mediated negotiations aimed at ending the war.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that its forces recaptured the second-to-last village in the Kursk region still held by Ukrainian forces, coming just weeks after Moscow staged a surprise counteroffensive in the key border town of Sudzha.

The Defense Forces of Ukraine continue their operation in the Kursk region. Over the past 24 hours, enemy advances were recorded in several areas, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.