Kiev is suffering large losses as Moscow continues to confront the Ukrainian Armed Forces invading Kursk, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday. 

In an update shared on its official Telegram channel, the ministry reported that with the help of air defenses and artillery, Russian units from the North Group were able to foil Ukrainian attacks near the settlements of Borki and Malaya Loknya, as well as Komarovka, Korenevo, Martynovka, and Russkaya Konopelka. 

Ukraine lost 70 military servicemen, two armored vehicles, and a car, during the operation, Russia stated.

Reconnaissance and search teams are simultaneously working to locate and dismantle Ukrainian sabotage groups hiding in forests as they attempt to advance further into Russian territory. The ministry confirmed that one such group was reportedly eliminated near Kamyshevka.

In the past 24 hours, the Defense Ministry reported that Kiev lost approximately 400 servicemen, along with 17 armored vehicles, including one tank, two armored personnel carriers, 14 armored combat vehicles, two artillery pieces, an MLRS launcher, two mortars, and ten vehicles. 

Since initiating its cross-border attack earlier this month, which reportedly included some of Kiev’s most well-equipped and experienced troops, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have reportedly lost approximately 5,137 soldiers, 69 tanks, 27 infantry fighting vehicles, 55 APCs, 350 armored combat vehicles, 34 artillery units, five anti-aircraft missile systems, 11 MLRS launchers (including three US-made HIMARS), and various other heavy equipment, as per Moscow's estimates.

Kiev officials previously stated that the offensive aimed to capture Russian territory in the Kursk Region to reduce the pressure on Ukrainian forces on other positions of the front line and to bolster Ukraine’s stance in potential peace negotiations with Moscow.

No negotiations with Kiev until enemy is defeated: Medvedev

In this context, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev stressed on Wednesday that Russia could have fallen into a "negotiation trap" were it not for the developments in the Kursk Region.

On his Telegram channel, Medvedev wrote, "Recently, although theoretically, there was one danger — a negotiation trap, where our country could fall under certain circumstances. Namely — early unnecessary peace negotiations proposed by the international community and imposed on the Kiev government with unclear prospects and consequences."

"After the neo-Nazis committed an act of terrorism in the Kursk Region, everything fell into place," he continued, adding that there will be no negotiations with Kiev "until the enemy is completely defeated."

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that as Ukrainian forces attempted to press deeper into Russia, Zelensky took advantage of the current situation to challenge a long-standing limitation imposed by Kiev's backers: the restriction on using Western-supplied long-range weapons against Russia.

This comes after a report by The Wall Street Journal reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated on Monday that Ukraine’s unexpected offensive into western Russia, now in its third week, demonstrates to the West that concerns over the repercussions of strikes on Russian territory are misplaced and should be reconsidered.