Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday that some 38,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded fighting in Russia's western Kursk region since August, with Kyiv now launching a fresh offensive in the border region.

Ukraine has largely been driven out of Kurakhove, a battered but strategic town in the Donbas, Russia said. Kyiv’s forces were pressing a renewed offensive in southern Russia.

Ukraine launched a new offensive in Russia's Kursk region Sunday, Moscow and Kyiv said. Ukrainian forces had captured about 500 square miles of the western Russian province in a surprise incursion in August, but Russian and North Korean troops are believed to have retaken 40-50% of that area.