According to Zelensky, Putin intends to return Kursk before Trump takes office

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has stated that Russia seeks to expel the Ukrainian troops from Kursk before the inauguration of the newly elected US President, Donald Trump.

“It is very important for him to show that he controls the situation in Kursk,” Zelensky told reporters.

In August, Ukraine invaded the Kursk region, seizing almost 1,400 square kilometers of Russian territory.As Trump has promised to end the war after taking office, Moscow may be forced to trade the captured territories in Kursk if it cannot expel Ukrainian troops in time.

Putin has sent tens of thousands of Russian soldiers to Kursk, who are launching wave after wave of counterattacks, the source of the General Staff of Ukraine said. Russia has recovered about 800 square kilometers in Kursk, or about 40 percent of the territory seized by Ukraine, the source said.

Zelensky claimed that the Ukrainian troops inflicted large-scale losses on the Russian troops in Kursk.