Moscow is reporting that its military drove Ukrainian forces out of 12 villages in the Kursk Oblast. Last year, Ukraine seized a large swath of sparsely defended Russian territory along the border region.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that “units of the ‘North’ group of troops during the offensive liberated 12 settlements … and more than 100 square kilometers of the Kursk region territory.” Moscow also reported gains in Ukraine, with the Ministry saying it captured the Donetsk settlement of Gorkogo.

While President Donald Trump says ending the war in Ukraine is a top priority, the conflict is escalating. Over the past week, Moscow and Kiev have launched major drone and missile attacks targeting each other’s energy infrastructure.

On Monday night and into Tuesday, Ukrainian forces launched their largest drone assault on Russia since the war began. Over 300 UAVs targeted sites across Russia’s Kursk and Moscow regions, including the Druzhba oil pipeline that brought oil from Russia to Hungary – a move that angered Budapest.

Andrey Kartapolov, head of Russia’s State Duma Defense Committee, argued that Moscow should deploy one of its most advanced weapons platforms in response, calling to strike Ukraine with the Oreshnik hypersonic missile. “The decision is up to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief (Russian President Vladimir Putin), but I think it would not be unreasonable, better even more than one,” he said, as cited in Russian state media. The Oreshnik can reportedly achieve speeds greater than Mach 10, which would allow it to penetrate any of Ukraine’s current air defense systems.

With fighting escalating across the frontlines, US and Ukrainian officials met in Saudi Arabia for talks. The summit produced a joint statement saying the Ukrainian delegation was receptive to a 30-day ceasefire proposal. Additionally, Trump reversed his block on military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine.