Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine had launched a counter-attack in the Kursk region, an area of western Russia from which Russian troops have been trying to eject Ukrainian forces for the past five months.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he will urge allies to boost Ukraine’s air defenses at a meeting this week in Germany, while both sides said Kyiv’s forces pressed new attacks Sunday in Russia’s Kursk region.

Russia said Sunday that Ukraine had launched a "counterattack" in the western border region of Kursk, where Kyiv's forces began a shock ground offensive last August.- Airports shut - Both Russia and Ukraine have exchanged regular attacks since the year began.

The head of the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, an official body, announced that Ukrainian forces had launched surprise attacks against Russian forces in various locations in Kursk.