Russian offensive under way against Ukrainian forces in Kursk region

(Reuters) -Russian troops have launched a large-scale offensive to retake swaths of the western Kursk region from Ukrainian forces, war bloggers and a senior Russian commander said on Saturday.

Ukrainian troops stormed into Russia's Kursk region last summer, taking chunks of territory in an unexpected lightning attack more than two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.

"In all directions of the Kursk section of the front, all units have launched a large-scale offensive," Major General Apti Alaudinov, commander of a Chechen unit fighting for Russia in Kursk, said on Telegram. "The enemy is abandoning its positions."

Reuters was unable to verify the situation on the battlefield. Ukraine's military did not immediately comment.

Open source maps showed this week that Ukraine's positions in Kursk have deteriorated sharply and its troops are nearly surrounded by Russian forces.

The precarious situation for Ukraine follows a pause in U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv as U.S. President Donald Trump puts pressure on Kyiv to agree to a ceasefire with Moscow.

Pro-Russian war blogger Two Majors said on Saturday Russian troops had begun an assault on Sudzha, a town about six miles (9.5 km) from the border with Ukraine, and that the situation for Ukrainian troops there was "close to critical".

Major General Alaudinov said Russian airborne brigades, motorised rifle regiments and the Akhmat special forces were taking part in "fierce battles" and "our guys are moving forward very well".

Russian troops recaptured three villages in Kursk - Viktorovka, Nikolaevka and Staraya Sorochina - from Ukraine on Saturday, the defence ministry said. Reuters could not independently verify its report.

(Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Timothy Heritage)