Russia's President Putin has visited the Russian border region Kursk for the first time since Ukrainian troops entered. He gave the command to drive away the remaining Ukrainian units from the region.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin surprisingly visited a command center in the war zone in view of the successful counter -offensive of his troops in the border region of Kursk. He gave the command to drive away the remaining Ukrainian units from Kursk, as the state news agency reported TASS.
Pictures of the meeting with chief of staff Waleri Gerassimow showed Putin in camouflage uniform. The exact place was not mentioned. According to Tass, it was the first visit to this part of the front for the Kremlin chief. Ukrainian units surprisingly entered Russia in August 2024 and had thus shifted the war to the opponent's field for the first time.
According to government spokesman Dmitri Peskow, Putin was informed during his visit that the Russian operation to recapture the region had entered the final phase.
Russia reports with a withdrawal of Ukrainian troops
After the Ukrainians could keep these positions for a long time, they have had to withdraw faster and faster under Russian pressure in the past few days. The last Ukrainian troops are circled, said Gerassimow, without this being independently checked.
The Kiev leadership occupied the area as a exchange object for possible negotiations with Russia, said the chief of staff. In addition, the seven -month push was supposed to bind Russian forces. “But these intentions of the opponent failed completely.”
Ukrainian soldiers treated like terrorists?
The Kursk region is located in the west of Russia and borders the Sumy region in the northeast of Ukraine. Their troops had crossed the border in August and had advanced on Russian territory. According to its own statements, the Ukrainian military had brought an area of at least 1,300 square kilometers under its control – an area about half as large as Saarland. The Russian armed forces had recaptured more than 1,100 square kilometers, said Gerassimow.
At Kursk, 430 Ukrainian soldiers are said to have been captured. Putin's opinion should be treated in accordance with Russian law like terrorists. Criminal proceedings have been initiated. “We treat all people human,” continued the Russian president, “at the same time I would like to remind you that foreign mercenaries do not fall under the agreement on the treatment of prisoners of war.” In the past, there had been repeated allegations in terms of prisoners of war towards the Russian army. UN human lawyers recently spoke of systematic abuse.
Ukrainian army chief wants to move troops
Despite the setbacks for the Ukrainian troops in the Kursk area, their commander -in -chief Olexandr Syrskyj denied a complete deduction. “Despite the increased pressure of the Russian-North-Korean army, we will maintain defense in the Kursk region as long as it is appropriate and necessary,” he wrote on Facebook. There are any withdrawals to protect the life of the soldiers. In this case, the units “possibly maneuvered themselves in cheaper positions,” said Syrskyj.
Russian troops were supported in their reconculation operation in Kursk by soldiers from North Korea – an ally Russia. Ukraine and foreign secret services in the meantime spoke of several thousand men.
According to the maps of military observers, only a few square kilometers are in the hand of Kiev troops. Most recently, they reported the reconquest of the district town of Sudscha by Russian troops.
Conflict parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and victims through official bodies of the Russian and the Ukrainian parties of conflict cannot be checked directly from an independent position in the current situation.
