Ukraine has denied Russian claims that it has been forced out of Russia's Kursk region.Valery Gerasimov, chief of staff of Russia's military, said his forces had regained full control of the region, eight months after Ukrainian forces first launched a surprise incursion into the border region,

In a statement, Putin congratulated the Russian soldiers and commanders and said that Kyiv’s incursion had “completely failed.”

Russia has regained control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.