KYIV, Ukraine >> Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia’s Kursk region that it seized in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counterassaults, a senior Ukrainian military source said.

Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia's Kursk region that it seized in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-assaults, a senior Ukrainian military source said.

The Ukrainian source revealed that their forces initially controlled up to 1,376 square kilometres (531 square miles) of territory in Kursk but now hold around 800 square kilometres (309 square miles).

Ukraine has lost over 40 percent of the territory in Russia's Kursk region that it rapidly seized in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counterassaults, a senior Ukrainian military source has said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region is faltering. Russian troops have pushed Kyiv's offensive backwards. Experts have questioned the success of the offensive, with one calling it a "strategic catastrophe" given manpower shortages faced by Ukraine.

Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia's Kursk region that it rapidly seized in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-assaults, a senior Ukrainian military source said.

Ukraine has now lost more than 40% of the territory of Kursk Oblast, which it has controlled since August, as a result of Russian counterattacks, says a Reuters source in the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Ukraine lost more than 40% of the territory in the Kursk region it controlled during a surprise operation launched in August. This happened amid waves of counterattacks organized by Russian troops, reports Reuters.

Of the territory Ukraine captured in a surprise attack in Russia's Kursk oblast in August, it has already lost 40 percent again. An army source told the Reuters news agency. “At the maximum, we had control of 1,

The Russians want to reclaim part of the Kursk region as soon as possible. They fear that if Donald Trump strives to freeze the conflict, the territory they lost will remain in Ukrainian hands. Even Putin's propaganda would struggle to justify that.