This Content Is Only For Subscribers
Please subscribe to unlock this content.
Vladimir Putin has visited Kursk for the first time since claiming to have completely retaken the Russian region from Ukrainian forces, state media reported on Wednesday, as the Russian president attempts to repel international pressure to agree to a 30-day ceasefire on the other side of the border. Putin met with municipal leaders in the city of Kurchatov and visited the Kursk nuclear power plant, which is currently under construction, the Kremlin said, according to TASS news agency. Video footage posted by Russian state media showed the president dressed in a suit speaking with what appeared to be local volunteers. The Kremlin head will hope that the visit, which appeared to take place on Tuesday but was announced on Wednesday, signals strength to the United States and the West at a time when Moscow has come under increasing pressure to pause its offensive against Ukraine. It came a day after Putin’s Monday phone call with US President Donald Trump, during which Russia’s leader seemingly did not offer any clear concessions over the conflict. Kyiv launched its shock offensive into the Russian border territory last August – the first ground invasion of Russia by a foreign power since World War II – and had held control of parts of the region until late last month, when Moscow claimed to finally have recaptured it with the help of North Korean soldiers. Putin said during his visit that Ukrainian forces were still trying to move toward the Russian border, according to RIA Novosti news agency. He also ordered an increase in the number of demining units in Kursk so displaced residents can return home, RIA Novosti reported. Kyiv poured precious resources into holding onto its territory in Kursk during its months-long incursion, with the view of using it as a key bargaining chip in any peace talks. Such dialogue did not materialize until last week, when teams from Kyiv and Moscow met in person in Turkey to begin discussing an end to the war. After Russia claimed to have retaken control of Kursk in April, Kyiv insisted its troops are fiercely battling to preserve their foothold in the territory. Last week Ukraine said it is still pursuing the ground war inside Russia. “We are continuing our active operations in the Kursk and Belgorod regions – we are proactively defending Ukraine’s border areas,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address last Wednesday. Putin again refused to commit to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Washington and Kyiv during his call with Trump earlier this week. He said the Kremlin was ready to work with Ukraine on a “possible ceasefire for a certain period of time,” but neither Putin nor Trump discussed a timeframe for a possible truce, said Kremlin presidential aide Yury Ushakov. Following the call, the European Union announced new sanctions against nearly 200 vessels in Russia’s so-called “shadow-fleet” of tankers it says transport Russian oil for export to avoid Western sanctions. Separately, Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of launching drone attacks on each other’s territory overnight into Wednesday. Ukraine said it has destroyed 63 of the 76 long-range drones that Russia used to attack it last night. Russia said it destroyed 159 Ukrainian attack drones over their territory.
