Russians fight to clear Kursk as Ukrainians hole up in monastery

Moscow’s troops were waging fierce battles on Thursday in Russia’s western Kursk region against Ukrainian forces, including hundreds holed up in a monastery, in an effort to rout them from Kyiv’s last major foothold in sovereign Russian territory, war bloggers said.

Ukrainian troops stormed across the border into Russia last August and seized almost 1,400 square km (540 square miles) of Kursk in an attack which took Moscow by surprise.