The bold campaign Ukraine launched last summer to seize and occupy Russian territory appears to be nearing an end.

Ukraine has confirmed its withdrawal from the biggest town it held in Kursk, as Russia battles the last of Kyiv’s troops out of the key region. On Thursday, Russia announced it had recaptured the town of Sudzha in Kursk, seven months after Ukrainian forces seized the area in its August 2024 incursion.

Russian troops are close to ejecting Ukrainian forces from their foothold in Russia's Kursk region, where they grabbed a chunk of land last August and have held on to it through more than seven months of fierce fighting.

Ukraine has key demands from Russia as well. Kyiv refuses to cede more territory to Moscow, including those in partially occupied regions. Also, Ukraine is seeking the return of children illegally deported to Russia and thousands of civilians detained in Russian prisons.

After Moscow and Kyiv agree to stop hitting each other's power plants and electric grids, negotiators will try to halt fighting on the Black Sea.