Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that his country has regained control of Kursk, the border region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive last year, though Ukraine’s army says fighting continues.

All Ukrainian troops have been forced from Russia’s Kursk region, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Saturday. Ukrainian officials have not commented on the claim.

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,