Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to the Kursk region since Moscow declared Ukrainian forces expelled from the border territory last month, in a move widely viewed as an attempt to project control and resist growing Western pressure for a ceasefire. State media reported the unannounced trip took place Tuesday but was disclosed publicly Wednesday.
During his visit to the contested region, Putin toured the under-construction Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2 and met with local volunteers behind closed doors in the city of Kurchatov. Kremlin footage showed the president in a business suit, speaking with residents wearing clothes emblazoned with Russian military insignia. "What you are doing now during this difficult situation for this region, for this area, and for the country, will remain with you for the rest of your life as, perhaps, the most meaningful thing with which you were ever involved," Putin told the group.
The visit comes as the Kremlin rejects a proposed 30-day ceasefire jointly backed by Kyiv and Washington. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said after Putin's call with U.S. President Donald Trump that Moscow was open to a potential pause in fighting but did not commit to a timeline. Russia was ready to work with Ukraine on a "possible ceasefire for a certain period of time," Ushakov stated.
Putin's show of force followed months of heavy fighting in Kursk, where Ukrainian troops made a rare cross-border incursion last August-the first foreign occupation of Russian soil since World War II. Kyiv maintained control of parts of the region until April, when Russia announced its full recapture with the reported assistance of up to 12,000 North Korean troops, according to Ukrainian, U.S., and South Korean officials.
Despite Moscow's claims, Ukraine insists the fight continues. "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 a televised address.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported Wednesday that its forces repelled 13 Russian assaults in Kursk and still hold a narrow strip of territory inside Russia near the border. Ukrainian military maps show a contested frontline along the region's edge.
Putin used the visit to order an increase in demining units to accelerate the return of displaced families. He also supported a proposal from acting Governor Alexander Khinshtein to continue monthly financial assistance to residents unable to return. A local museum commemorating the "heroism of our defenders and the heroism of the region's residents" is also being considered.
Public dissatisfaction over a lack of compensation has erupted into rare protests in recent weeks, drawing attention to Moscow's struggle to maintain civilian support in conflict zones.
Meanwhile, both sides launched extensive overnight drone strikes. Russia's Ministry of Defense claimed to have intercepted 159 Ukrainian drones, including 53 over Oryol and 51 over Bryansk. Ukrainian officials said they downed 63 out of 76 Russian-launched Shahed and decoy drones.
In Ukraine's northern Sumy region, Russian drones killed two people and wounded five others. In the Kyiv region, four family members were injured when drone debris struck their home.
Ukraine's military claimed its drones hit the Bolkhov Semiconductor Devices Plant in Russia's Oryol region, a facility crucial to the Kremlin's military-industrial complex. The General Staff said 10 drones struck the plant, though the report could not be independently confirmed.
