Ukraine denies the Kremlin's claims and asserts that it still has soldiers in the Russian region.
But the Kremlin claims that the Russian army has retaken the entire Kursk region and driven out the last remaining Ukrainian soldiers. The development comes as no surprise to Johan Norberg, a military analyst at the Total Defence Research Institute, FOI.
Ukraine has slowly but surely backed out of Kursk. And one day, they may have been forced to leave completely. Maybe it's today. But it doesn't mean much militarily in the war.
No Failure
Ukraine surprisingly entered Russian territory in August last year. It took almost nine months for Russia to counter the offensive – if the reports from Moscow are true. From the Russian side, the Ukrainian invasion is described as a failure. Johan Norberg disagrees.
This is not a major failure. They tried to do a clever thing and then couldn't hold on to it. But it has drawn a lot of troops from other parts of Ukraine.
Norberg also notes that North Korean forces have played a significant role in Kursk.
I don't think the North Korean engagement is a sign of Russian strength. The Kremlin hasn't wanted to make a big deal out of it either.
Several experts have seen Ukraine's incursion into Russian territory as a pawn in the game around the peace process. But Johan Norberg doesn't think that what has happened now will affect the overall picture.
I think it's more important for the Ukrainians to be able to hold out on Ukrainian territory.
"Not Finished"
Johan Norberg is skeptical that the US-led talks currently underway will lead to a peace agreement soon.
The Russians have been very clear that they don't want an agreement. They're not finished with Ukraine and they think they have time and strength on their side.
The latest statements from US President Donald Trump, which suggest a lack of patience with the peace process, may also play into Moscow's hands.
They (the Russians) have no reason to stop now when it's actually moving forward. As long as they can drag out this peace agreement, I think they feel that for every day that passes, the US regime appears weaker because they haven't gotten the peace agreement they promised.
And then Russia looks strong.
