Russia has announced that its troops have fully reclaimed the Kursk region, nearly nine months after losing chunks of the border territory to a surprise Ukrainian incursion.

Vladimir Putin has made his first visit to the Kursk region since Russia claimed it had recaptured the area following a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year — the first ground invasion of Russian territory by foreign troops since World War II.

It was the Russian leader’s first visit to the region, since Moscow said it drove out Ukrainian forces last month, a claim Kyiv has denied.