President Vladimir Putin visited the Kursk region of Russia for the first time since Moscow said that she had chased Ukrainian forces in the region last month, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.
Putin visited the region bordering Ukraine the day before, according to the Kremlin.
Ukrainian forces have made a Surprise incursion in Kursk in August 2024 in one of their greatest successes on the battlefield in the more than three years of war. The foray was the first time that Russian territory had been occupied by an invader since the Second World War and treated A humiliating at the Kremlin.
Since the end of 2023, Russia has mainly had the advantage on the battlefield, with the exception of Kursk.
North Korea sent up to 12,000 soldiers To help the Russian army regain control of Kursk, according to Ukraine, the United States and South Korea. Russia announced on April 26 that its forces had rejected The Ukrainian army. Kyiv officials denied the complaint.
The general staff of the Ukrainian army said on Wednesday that his forces had pushed 13 Russian assaults in Kursk. His card of military activity has shown that Ukrainian troops lasting a fine line of land against the border but still inside Russia.
Putin’s unexpected visit seemed to be an effort to show that Russia controls the conflict – even if its large -scale invasion of its neighbor was slow and costly in terms of victims and equipment – in the midst of the United States and recent European states Proposals for a ceasefire This Putin actually rejected.
Video broadcasting by the Russian state media has shown that Putin visited the Kursk-2 nuclear power plant, which is still under construction, and has met volunteers selected behind closed doors.
Many volunteers wore clothes sporting the Russian flag and the Latin letters “Z” and “V”, which are symbols of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
“What you do now during this difficult situation for this region, for this region, and for the country, will remain with you for the rest of your life, because, perhaps, the most significant thing you have been involved,” said Putin by drinking tea with volunteers.
Ukraine’s surprise plunged into Kursk and its ability to hold land, there was a logistical feat, achieved in secret, which has the months of the months of dark news on the Ukrainian forces pushed by the largest Russian army.
kyiv’s strategy aimed to show that Russia has weaknesses and that war is not lost. He also sought to distract the Russian forces of their assault in the eastern region of Donetsk in Ukraine.
This decision was responsible for risk. Analysts noted that he could turn against him and open a door to Russian advances in Ukraine by further stretching the Ukrainian forces which disagree along the front line of approximately 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).
The foray did not significantly modify the dynamics of war.
Putin told the acting governor of Kursk, Alexander Khinshtein, that the Kremlin had supported the idea of ​​continuing the monthly payments to displaced families who still could not return home.
Putin said he would support a proposal to build a museum in the region to celebrate what the acting governor Alexander Khinshtein described as “the heroism of our defenders and the heroism of residents of the region”.
Unhappy residents had previously shown their disapproval of a lack of compensation in rare organized demonstrations.
Putin visited the Kursk region for the last time in March, when Ukrainian troops still controlled certain parts of the region. He wore military fatigue – a spectacle rarely seen for the Russian chief, who generally carries a costume – and visited the military seat of the region where he was filmed with the best generals.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses had shot down 159 Ukrainian drones across the country during the night, including 53 in the Oryol region and 51 in the Bryansk region.
In Ukraine, Russian drone attacks killed two people and injured five others in the northern region of Sumy, the regional administration said.
In the kyiv region, four family members were injured when debris from a slaughtered drone hit their house, according to the regional administration.
Russia has launched 76 Shahed and Lure drones overnight in Ukraine, Ukrainian Air Force said.
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