Russia said Saturday its troops had retaken three villages seized by Ukraine in its Kursk border region, in a fresh setback for Kyiv ahead of talks to try to end the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday named a high-level delegation including ministers to meet US negotiators in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, seeking to repair ties with President Donald Trump's administration.
"We hope to discuss and agree on the necessary decisions and steps", Zelensky said, stressing that Ukraine was "fully committed to constructive dialogue".
But he condemned "brutal" deadly strikes on eastern Ukraine, saying they proved that Russia was "not thinking about how to end the war".
Trump on Friday threatened new sanctions and tariffs against Russia over its bombardment of Ukraine.
The three-year-long war is now at a critical juncture for Kyiv after Trump suspended US military aid following his public falling-out with Zelensky last week.
Ukraine still controls some 400 square kilometres (150 square miles) in the Kursk region after launching an offensive last August. Zelensky sees this as a possible bargaining chip in peace talks.
But Ukraine's troops in Kursk have seen their position worsen in recent weeks as Russian forces pushed back.
Russia's defence ministry on Saturday announced the recapture of three more villages: Viktorovka, Nikolayevka and Staraya Sorochina.
According to DeepState, an online military tracker linked to the Ukrainian army, the Russian move followed a "breach" in the Ukrainian defence lines near the town of Sudzha, which is under Kyiv's control.
The advance appears to have cut off the logistics route needed by Ukraine to supply its troops, although Kyiv has not confirmed this.
Russia has already taken back more than two-thirds of the territory Ukraine initially seized in Kursk.
The Ukrainian military General Staff said Saturday that clashes were ongoing amid heavy bombardment with artillery and guided aerial bombs.
Small groups of Russian troops have also mounted attacks in recent weeks into Ukraine's Sumy region bordering Kursk.
Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation on Saturday denied reports of a "massive breakthrough", saying its forces were destroying small groups trying to cross.
With AFP
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