Russian forces have advanced further into Kursk, trapping Ukrainian soldiers as part of a major encirclement operation, pro-Kremlin war bloggers said.

Moscow’s troops were reported to have cleared the village of Ivashkovsky as they advanced from seven directions.

Yuri Podolyaka, a pro-Russian military blogger, said Russia’s advance had left pockets of Ukrainian troops cut off from friendly forces.

“Over the past four days, Russian troops have cleared as much territory in the Kursk region as they sometimes could not even clear in a couple of months,” Rybar, a Russian blogger close to the defence ministry, said.

Ukraine had been hoping to hold onto the Russian territory it seized as a potential bargaining chip in any negotiations. It came as Russia announced on Sunday it had captured territory in Ukraine’s Sumy region for the first time since 2022.

Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has travelled to Saudi Arabia for tomorrow’s talks with Ukrainian officials. US officials said they believed Kyiv was “ready to move forward” with ceasefire negotiations.