Kyiv's troops are struggling to hold territory in Russia's Kursk region and may be forced to retreat, reports say.

Kyiv's top general said on Monday that Ukrainian troops fighting in Russia's Kursk region were not at risk of encirclement, despite a recent counteroffensive by Russian forces that has included North Korean troops.

Ukrainian troops sprang one of the biggest surprises of the war by invading Russia's Kursk region last August, and Russia has taken more than seven months to eject them.