Ukraine war latest: Kyiv troops withdraw from Kursk town as Russia closes in

Seven months after Ukraine launched an incursion into the western Russian region of Kursk, Moscow are close to driving them out completely.

Kyiv’s forces are rapidly losing land in the region which they hoped could be a crucial bargaining chip in peace negotiations.

Moscow claims that recent advances from its forces have left Ukrainian troops with less 200 square km (77 square miles) in Kursk, down from 1,300 square km (500 square miles) at the peak of the incursion.

A battleground map shared by Kyiv on Sunday also confirmed they had retreated from Sudzha, the biggest town Ukraine controlled in Kursk.

But Ukraine is still holding on to a sliver of land in the region, and Kyiv denies claims that its troops are surrounded.

Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, claimed Russia has pushed back Ukrainian forces to the border in some areas, though intense battles are still underway and Kyiv’s forces were fighting back as they retreated.

A Liberal Democrat MP has warned Britons could be conscripted if a war broke out between Russia and the UK.

Mike Martin, an Afghanistan veteran and MP for Tunbridge Wells told the Express: “There’s a significant chance that it [war with Russia] might happen so we must be prepared.

“Obviously, if we get involved in a general war with Russia, we’ll be conscripting the population – there’s no question about that,”

However, he said that it is unlikely tensions will escalate that far as added: “[It is] quite unlikely that we get to that situation of sort of generalised war. I think you can see a space in between here and there, where we are increasing the size of the military quite rapidly.”

The Turkish president has backed Donald Trump’s steps to end the war in Ukraine after the pair spoke on the phone.

A statement released by Tayyip Erdogan’s office on Sunday said that the Turkish leader “supports President Trump’s decisive and direct initiatives to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.”

The statement also says he “emphasised that Turkey has been striving for a just and lasting peace since the beginning of the war and will continue to do so.”

Sir Keir Starmer held a virtual meeting with 29 other world leaders to discuss peace in Ukraine.

The countries in the “coalition of the willing”, which include Britain, France, Australia and Canada, will discuss how to help Kyiv deter future Russian aggression in the event of any peace deal.

The leaders discussed how countries plan to contribute to the coalition of the willing, ahead of a military planning session next week.

Ukraine has confirmed its troops have withdrawn from the town of Sudzha in the Kursk region.

In recent days, Moscow recaptured the town which was originally taken by Kyiv during their military operation in the Kursk region last last year.

On Sunday, Ukraine’s general staff posted a map of the region, depicting a full withdrawal of its forces from the town.

Kyiv has denied reports that is has retreated from the Kursk region entirely.