President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had trapped the remaining Ukrainian soldiers in its western Kursk region, where they have clung on for more than seven months in one of the key battles of the war.

A Russian service member places a flag oh the roof of a house in a part of the Kursk region, which was recently retaken by Russia's armed forces in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia, in this image released.

Russia says it will discuss the U.S. ceasefire proposal, but Vladimir Putin has signaled he seeks to expel the remnants of Ukrainian forces from Kursk.