Russian forces are intensifying pressure on Toretsk in the Donetsk region, increasing the number of assault operations and artillery strikes. Additionally, they have redeployed extra troops from the Kurakhove and Pokrovsk directions,

The front line inside Ukraine has become more static, Ukrainian soldiers say, even as Russia regains ground in its own Kursk region.

Russia said on Thursday there was no doubt that its troops would soon complete the task of clearing out Ukrainian forces from Russia's Kursk region where they have held a pocket of territory for more than seven months.