Putin visits Kursk Oblast for first time since Moscow claimed its recapture
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kursk Oblast, the Kremlin said on May 21, marking his first known visit since Moscow declared it had retaken the Russian border region from Ukrainian forces.
Russia claimed on April 26 that it had completed its operation to liberate Kursk Oblast. Ukraine has refuted the claim, saying that the fighting is ongoing in some areas.
During the visit, Putin met with Acting Governor Alexander Khinshtein, heads of local municipalities, and members of volunteer organizations. He also visited the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, the Kremlin's press service said. The exact date of the visit was not revealed.
The Russian president previously visited Kursk Oblast in March, which was his first trip to the region since Ukraine began its incursion last summer.
Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024, marking the first large-scale invasion of Russian territory by foreign forces since World War II. The operation aimed to disrupt a planned Russian offensive on the neighboring Sumy Oblast and draw Russian forces away from the embattled Donetsk Oblast.
Reinforced by North Korean troops, Russia launched a push to recapture the region in early March, with Ukraine being forced to pull back from much of the initially taken territory, including the town of Sudzha.
According to the Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState, Ukrainian forces still hold limited positions in the villages of Gornal and Oleshnya.
Despite Moscow's declaration of victory in the region, Putin acknowledged on April 30 that "remnants" of Ukrainian forces remain in Kursk Oblast.
Chris York
