Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the border region of Kursk, his first to the area since it was fully recaptured from Ukrainian forces, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, May 21st.
Putin rarely visits areas near the front line and his movements to border regions are often kept under wraps until after he has returned.
During the visit on Tuesday, Putin met the region’s governor, spoke with local volunteers, and inspected the site of a multi-billion dollar nuclear power plant under construction.
Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the Kursk region in August 2024, seizing hundreds of square kilometres of territory in a major military setback for the Kremlin.
Russia managed to fully claim control of the region only in April, almost nine months later.
Kyiv had hoped land in the Kursk region would act as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with Russia, which has seized and occupied around a fifth of its territory.
Putin said Ukraine was maintaining its attacks on the border territory. “Every day the enemy attempts to cross the Russian state border,” the Kremlin chief said.
Meanwhile, a Russian strike on a military training site in northeastern Ukraine killed six soldiers and wounded at least 10 others, the Ukrainian national guard said on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s Sumy border region—from where Kyiv’s troops launched last year’s major cross-border offensive into Russia’s Kursk region—has come under intensifying attacks in recent months after Moscow recaptured its territory.
