Moscow, Russia - Russia's defense ministry said Wednesday it had retaken two villages in its Kursk region that were captured by Ukraine in a surprise offensive.

Russia has rarely claimed any recaptured territory since Ukraine launched its offensive into the border region on August 6, pushing some 150,000 Russians to evacuate.

The ministry said in a statement that Russian troops "continued offensive operations, during which they liberated the settlements of Novaya Sorochina and Pokrovsky".

The ministry also released a video that it said showed the capture of Pokrovsky, including drone footage of a village street with houses lacking roofs and windows or razed to the ground.

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Novaya Sorochina is located close to the border with Ukraine, while Pokrovsky is deeper into Russian territory. The ministry said Russian paratroopers stormed Pokrovsky, which it described as a stronghold for Ukrainian troops.

"Seeing the Russian paratroopers, the Ukrainian servicemen fled from their positions in panic," it said.

Russia said its troops "are continuing actions to defeat the enemy group that has penetrated into the territory of Kursk region."

It said it had repelled Ukrainian attacks on two villages near Pokrovsky. Russia has insisted from the start that it would expel Ukrainian troops from the region.

In mid-September, the defense ministry said that Russian troops had retaken 12 villages in the Kursk region.

Soon after, a spokesman in Ukraine's military administration told AFP that Russia's counter-offensive to retake territory had been "stopped".

Ukraine has said its offensive is intended to create a buffer zone in the region to stop shelling of its border areas. At the end of August, it claimed to control some 100 Russian settlements and almost 500 square miles of territory.

The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said that on Wednesday, Russia had dropped 14 guided bombs on the Kursk region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that the army's target of capturing the Donbas – which includes the east Ukrainian regions of Lugansk and Donetsk – was a priority, and Russian forces have been advancing steadily towards the logistics hub of Pokrovsk.