Russian special forces walked inside a gas pipeline to strike Ukrainian units from the rear in the Kursk region, Ukraine’s military and Russian war bloggers reported, as Moscow moves to recapture parts of its border province that Kyiv seized in a shock offensive.

Kremlin forces are racing to drive back and cut off Ukraine’s troops in Russia’s Kursk region in a bid to undermine a bargaining chip in possible peace talks after the US suspended new military aid to Kyiv.