INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia's Defense Ministry said Wednesday it had retaken two villages in its Kursk region that were captured by Ukraine in a surprise
offensive.Russia has rarely claimed any recaptured territory since Ukraine launched its offensive into the border region on Aug
6.The ministry said in a statement that Russian troops "continued offensive operations, during which they liberated the settlements of
Novaya Sorochina and Pokrovsky."Novaya Sorochina is located close to the border with Ukraine, while Pokrovsky is deeper into Russian
territory.Russia said its troops "are continuing actions to defeat the enemy group that has penetrated into the territory of Kursk
region."It said it had repelled Ukrainian attacks on two villages near Pokrovsky.In mid-September, the Defense Ministry said that Russian
troops had retaken 12 villages in the Kursk region.Soon after, a spokesman in Ukraine's military administration told AFP that Russia's
counteroffensive to retake territory had been "stopped."Ukraine has said its offensive is intended to create a buffer zone in the region to
stop shelling of its border areas.At the end of August, it claimed to control some 100 Russian settlements and almost 1,300 square
kilometers (500 square miles) of territory.Ukraine said Wednesday that Russia had launched a ballistic missile attack on its central Poltava
region from the Kursk region.
