Kyiv's top general said on Monday that Ukrainian troops fighting in Russia's Kursk region were not at risk of encirclement, despite a recent counteroffensive by Russian forces that has included North Korean troops.

The repositioning could be a prelude to a complete Ukrainian withdrawal from Kursk back to the relative safety of northern Ukraine. Shrugging off at least one raid by a Ukrainian

Russian special forces walked inside a gas pipeline to strike Ukrainian units from the rear in the Kursk region, Ukraine’s military and Russian war bloggers reported, as Moscow claimed fresh gains in its push to recapture parts of the border province that Kyiv seized in a shock offensive.