Russian troops are trying to carve out a buffer zone in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, although so far without substantial success, the regional governor said on Tuesday. The Sumy region borders on Russia's Kursk region,

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.

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