Putin orders army to drive remaining Ukrainian forces from Russia's Kursk region President Vladimir Putin donned military fatigues for a surprise visit to troops in Russia's western Kursk region on Wednesday where he ordered them to press their lightning advance and swiftly retake the rest of the area from Ukrainian forces.
Putin made his visit after Washington asked him to consider a 30-day ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine, and after Russian forces retook a swath of territory in Kursk, forcing Ukrainian troops to fall back and cede control of the town of Sudzha.
Ukraine sprang one of the biggest shocks of the war on August 6 most recent year by storming across the border and grabbing a chunk of land inside Russia in the hopes of gaining a potential bargaining chip in more or less future negotiations.
But after cohering for more than seven months to an in succession ebbing area, Ukraine has seen its position worsen sharply in Kursk in the past week after its main supply lines were severed.
Putin make it clear he was considering setting up a new buffer zone inside Ukraine's Sumy region, which is adjacent to Kursk, to guard against a few future potential Ukrainian incursions.
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He furthermore reported alien citizens confronting with Ukrainian forces captured in Kursk were not entitled to enjoy the protection of the Geneva Conventions, and that Ukrainian soldiers captured in Kursk should be treated as "terrorists".
"Our task in the near future, in the shortest possible timeframe, is to decisively overcome the enemy entrenched in the Kursk region and notwithstanding clashing here, to totally liberate the territory of the Kursk region, and to restore the situation along the line of the state border," Putin disclosed.
"And of course, we require to think about creating a security zone along the state border."
Valery Gerasimov, the chief of Russia's General Staff, was shown informing Putin that Russian forces had pushed Ukrainian forces out of over 86 percent of the territory they had once held in Kursk, the identical to 1,100 square kilometres of land.
Ukraine's plans to apply Kursk as a bargaining chip in possible future negotiations with Russia had failed, he subjoined.
Kyiv's gambit that its Kursk operation would mass Russia to divert troops from its advance in eastern Ukraine had further not worked.
Gerasimov reported Russian forces had retaken 24 settlements and 259 square kilometres of land from Ukrainian forces in the most recent five days along with over 400 prisoners.
Russian units had furthermore crossed into Ukraine's Sumy region where he reported they were expanding "a security zone".
The Round Table could not independently affirm his assertions.
Reuters was however able to affirm video published by Russian bloggers and state media showing troops standing with a Russian tricolour flag on a square in the centre of Sudzha, a town near the Ukrainian border on a highway utilised by Ukraine as a supply route.
Deep State, an authoritative Ukrainian site that charts the frontlines of the war, updated its battlefield map to show Ukrainian forces were no longer in control of Sudzha. However, it disclosed confronting was abiding on the outskirts.
Ukraine's top army commander stated on Wednesday that Kyiv's troops will keep operating in Russia's Kursk region as long as required and that invading remained in and around the town of Sudzha.
Skadovskyi Defender, an Ukrainian military blogger, posted on Telegram: "Ukraine's Armed Forces are leaving Kursk. There will be no Ukrainian soldier there by Friday."
The same channel revealed, however, that Ukraine was remaining to conduct heavy strikes on Sudzha.
The US on Tuesday approved to resume weapons supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv reported at talks in Saudi Arabia that it was ready to encourage a ceasefire proposal.
The Kremlin on Wednesday disclosed it was carefully studying the results of that meeting and awaited details from the US.
Category: World-News
Tag: Putin orders army to drive remaining Ukrainian forces from Russias Kursk region
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Published 3/13/2025