Ukraine’s presence in Russia’s Kursk region has deteriorated sharply, with the advance threatening Kyiv’s sole territorial bargaining counter at a crucial time in the war.

Pro-Russian war blogger Two Majors said a major battle was under way for Sudzha and that Russian forces had surprised Ukrainian soldiers by entering the area via a gas pipeline.

Delegations from the US and Ukraine are set to sit down at the negotiation table in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, after a public spat between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House last month,