MOSCOW, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian engineering units have started demining operations in reclaimed border areas of the Kursk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday.

This grab taken from a handout footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry on March 13, 2025, shows destructions in the town of Sudzha in the Kursk region. (Photo: AFP)

​The efforts are aimed to facilitate the restoration of essential infrastructure and the resumption of economic activities following intense combat, the ministry said in a statement.

It added that the engineering units have discovered munitions banned by the Geneva Convention.

Over the past weeks, Russian troops have retaken a large part of areas that Ukraine captured after its surprise cross-border attack in the Kursk region in August last year.