Ukrainian officials disputed the claim, saying their forces continue to hold back Russian troops in the Kursk sector.

All Ukrainian troops have been forced from parts of Russia’s Kursk region, which Moscow lost control of last year to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia’s top general said in a Kremlin meeting Saturday.

The Kremlin has claimed that all Ukrainian troops have been pushed out of Russia’s Kursk region and for the first time confirmed the role of North Korean soldiers in the fighting.