President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to troops in Russia’s western Kursk region on Wednesday, donning military fatigues, where he directed them to intensify their advance and swiftly reclaim the remaining territory from Ukrainian forces.
This visit came after the United States urged Putin to consider a 30-day ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine, following Russian forces’ recapture of a significant portion of Kursk, which forced Ukrainian troops to retreat and relinquish control of the town of Sudzha.
Ukraine shocked the world on August 6 last year by crossing the border and seizing a chunk of Russian land, boosting the morale of its citizens and potentially gaining a bargaining chip. However, after holding onto the shrinking territory for more than seven months, Ukraine’s position in Kursk has worsened sharply in the past week after losing key supply lines.
Putin suggested he was contemplating the establishment of a new buffer zone within Ukraine’s Sumy region, adjacent to Kursk, to prevent future incursions by Ukrainian forces.
He also stated that foreign citizens fighting with Ukraine’s forces captured in Kursk were not entitled to Geneva Convention protections and that Ukrainian soldiers captured in the region should be treated as “terrorists.”
“Our immediate task is to decisively defeat the enemy entrenched in the Kursk region, fully liberate it, and restore control along the state border,” Putin said. “We also need to think about creating a security zone along the border.”
Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s General Staff chief, told Putin that Russian forces had driven Ukrainian troops out of more than 86% of the territory they had held in Kursk—around 1,100 square kilometers (425 square miles)—and had retaken 24 settlements and 259 square kilometers of land in the last five days, capturing over 400 prisoners.
Gerasimov also noted that Russian forces had crossed into Ukraine’s Sumy region, expanding their “security zone.”
Although Reuters could not independently verify his claims, video evidence from Russian bloggers and state media showed troops raising the Russian flag in Sudzha, a town near the Ukrainian border and a key supply route. Deep State, a respected Ukrainian site monitoring the frontlines, confirmed that Ukrainian forces no longer controlled Sudzha but said fighting continued on its outskirts.
Ukraine’s military chief said Kyiv’s forces would keep operating in Kursk as long as necessary, and fighting persisted in and around Sudzha. Ukrainian military blogger Skadovskyi Defender stated, “Ukraine’s Armed Forces are leaving Kursk. There will be no Ukrainian soldier there by Friday,” though the same source confirmed that Ukraine continued heavy strikes on Sudzha.
