"Ru, half of the Kursk land taken by Ukra"

Russia has recaptured about half of the western Kursk territory lost to Ukraine, the British daily Telegraph reported on the 15th local time.

Major General Afti Alaudinov, the senior commander of Russia's Chechen Republic, reportedly said about 50,000 troops were pushing Ukrainian forces out of Kursk and that Ukrainian forces had fled or been isolated.

"About half of the territory occupied by the enemy has already been liberated," said Maj. Gen. Aliudinov, who leads the Ahmat special forces deployed to Kursk.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack on Russia's mainland in August and seized parts of Kursk.

Russian and Ukrainian military bloggers say Russian forces have been penetrating the Ukrainian front in Kursk since the 12th.

In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation on the front lines had stabilized.

But the U.S. think tank War Research Institute said it had seen "visual evidence" that Russia had recaptured 46% of its territory in Kursk.