Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov with the report that all Ukrainian troops have been forced from Russia's Kursk region, during their meeting via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — 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. Ukrainian officials denied the claim.

Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff for Russia’s Armed Forces, gave Russian President Vladimir Putin the news in a meeting Saturday, Peskov told Russian state news outlet Interfax.

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

“The complete defeat of our enemy along Kursk’s border region creates the right conditions for further successes for our troops and in other important areas of the front,” he said.

Ukrainian officials, however, said the fighting was still continuing. “The statements of representatives of the high command of the aggressor country about the alleged end of hostilities in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation are not true,” Ukraine’s General staff said Saturday.

“The defensive operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in certain areas in the Kursk region continues. The operational situation is difficult, but our units continue to hold designated positions and carry out assigned tasks, while inflicting effective fire damage on the enemy with all types of weapons, including using active defense tactics,” it added.

The Ukrainian army stunned Russia in August 2024 by attacking across the border and taking control of an estimated 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of land. The country’s leaders believed the capture of Russian territory might help in any future peace negotiations, but their gains were slowly eroded and Ukrainian troops continued to lose control of the territory throughout early 2025.

Gerasimov also confirmed Saturday that North Korean soldiers fought against Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region. Gerasimov said that they took part in “combat missions shoulder to shoulder with Russian servicemen during the repelling of the Ukrainian incursion” and “demonstrated high professionalism, showed fortitude, courage and heroism in battle.”

In the fall, Ukraine, the U.S. and South Korea all said that North Korea, which previously had supplied weapons to Moscow, had deployed 10,000-12,000 of its troops to Russia to fight in Kursk.

Moscow and Pyongyang until now had responded vaguely to the South Korean and Western claims of the troop deployment, emphasizing that their military cooperation conforms with international law, without directly admitting the presence of the North Korean forces in Russia.

The news comes as U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Vatican City on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral to discuss a potential ceasefire deal.

The presidents met at St. Peter’s Basilica for about 15 minutes, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nykyforov said. Zelenskyy’s office initially said that the two leaders would continue negotiations later on Saturday, but Nykyforov later told journalists that there would be no second meeting due to the presidents’ tight schedules.

During the meeting, both sides discussed key issues on the path to peace, a source told The Associated Press. The conversation was described as very constructive, with both sides ready to move quickly.

Shortly after arriving in Rome on Friday, Trump said on social media that Ukraine and Russia should meet for “very high-level talks” on ending the three-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Friday, and Trump said both sides were “very close to a deal.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Saturday that Putin had told Witkoff Russia was ready to negotiate with Kyiv without any preconditions.

But less than 24 hours later, Trump said he doubted Putin’s willingness to end the war.

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through “Banking” or “Secondary Sanctions?” Too many people are dying!!!” he said in a post on Truth Social.

Three people were killed overnight by Russian attacks across Ukraine, local officials said Saturday.

Two people died in a strike on the town of Yarova in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, local Gov. Vadym Filashkin said in a post on social media. Another person died in the Dnipropetrovsk region, said Gov Serhiy Lysak. Six people were injured, including an 88-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl, he said.

Russia launched three missiles and 114 drones over Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force wrote in a statement Saturday. Sixty-six drones were destroyed and a further 31 decoy drones failed to reach their destination.

Meanwhile, Russian air defenses shot down 45 Ukrainian drones overnight, the country’s defense ministry said.

Zelenskyy also met with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the funeral. Later, he met Starmer at the residence of the British Ambassador in Rome.