Russia deployed "a huge number of soldiers," with Ukrainian forces killing 45 troops and injuring 53, Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade claimed.

Russian forces continue to make costly but consistent gains in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. They are steadily grinding down a pocket of resistance around the town of Kurakhove and are also fighting to envelop the larger nearby city of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian soldiers and officials said.

Ukraine first launched its incursion into Russia's Kursk region in August last year, seizing a large chunk of territory. In recent months, Russian forces have made big gains in th