March 8 (Reuters) - Russian troops retook from Ukrainian forces the villages of Viktorovka, Nikolaevka and Staraya Sorochina in Russia's western Kursk region, the TASS state news agency reported on Saturday, citing the defence ministry.
Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield report.
The Russian army has been fighting to eject Ukrainian troops from Kursk since last August, when Kyiv's forces staged a lightning incursion over the border and seized a swath of Russian territory.