Russian forces have retaken 63.2% of the territory captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region of western Russia, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces had retaken 63.2% of Ukrainian-held territory in the Kursk region of western Russia. Meanwhile, Germany's top diplomat has criticised the Berlin row over aid.

In a short post on Telegram, Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said: "Kursk, good news, Russia is getting what it deserves."

Ukraine’s continued focus on Kursk shows how important Kyiv believes it is to hold on to Russian land, especially if Trump pushes both sides to the negotiating table.

Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine had launched a counter-attack in the Kursk region, an area of western Russia from which Russian troops have been trying to eject Ukrainian forces for the past five months.

Ukraine is leaning into its efforts to hold onto the Russian territory of Kursk amid intense pressure from Russian and North Korean forces to take it back, apparently gambling that the region

Russia said Sunday that Ukraine had launched a "counterattack" in the western border region of Kursk, where Kyiv's forces began a shock ground offensive last August.

The 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade repelled an assault of Russian troops near the village of Zhuravka in Sumy Oblast on the border with Russia's Kursk Oblast, according to the brigade's Jan. 15 statement.