WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Putin visits Kursk region for first time since ejecting Ukrainian forces

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the western Kursk region for the first time since Russian forces ejected Ukrainian troops from the area last month.

The Kremlin said that during the visit on Tuesday Putin met volunteer organisations in the region and visited the Kursk-II nuclear power plant.

State television showed Putin meeting volunteers and local officials in the region including acting governor Alexander Khinshtein. Putin was accompanied by Sergei Kiriyenko, Kremlin first deputy chief of staff.

Russia said in late April that it had ejected Ukrainian troops from Kursk region, ending the biggest incursion into Russian territory since World War Two.

Just over two years after Russia's 2022 invasion, Ukraine on Aug. 6 launched its boldest attack, smashing through the Russian border into the Kursk region, supported by swarms of drones and heavy Western weaponry.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia’s Belgorod, Kursk Regions under Russian army’s control — officer

Russian forces fully control of the borderline Belgorod and Kursk Regions, with Ukraine’s counterattacks being thwarted, Deputy Chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department, Akhmat Special Forces Commander Major General Apty Alaudinov said.

"The situation in the Kursk and Belgorod Regions is under control. The enemy has been trying to win a foothold there for a long time, deploying a lot of manpower and combat vehicles," he told TASS. "None of these so-called counteroffensives succeeded, resulting in big losses for the Ukrainian army. In general, it can be said that the territory of both the Belgorod and Kursk Regions is under control.".

Reuters/Tass