RUSSIAN troops have taken four villages in the Sumy region of Ukraine bordering Kursk, a local Ukrainian official said today, while Russia also reported taking more land in Donetsk.

Last month Russia announced it had cleared its Kursk region of Ukrainian soldiers, who launched a counter-invasion of Russian territory there last August in a bid to divert Russian forces from their front lines in Ukraine and take land that could be used to bargain for conquered Ukrainian territory in peace talks.

Since then, Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the army to create a buffer zone along the Kursk border within Ukraine, to prevent future attacks there.

The ground advances took place as Ukraine reported a reduction in Russian missile and drone attacks, which have been intense in recent days.

Progress towards further peace talks following the conclusion of a prisoner swap agreed in Istanbul seemed elusive, with Moscow blaming European countries for “sabotaging” talks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said European countries were still delivering weaponry to Ukraine, noting that the Netherlands delivered more F-16 fighter jets this week, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that there would no longer be any range limit on missiles supplied to Kiev, potentially allowing Ukraine to fire at targets deep within Russia. He said this amounted to “indirect participation” in the war against Russia and made peace less likely.

US special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said Russia had not delivered a memorandum outlining a framework for a peace agreement that Mr Putin had promised US President Donald Trump on May 19, and added that Russia had objected to the Vatican as a venue for talks.