Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kursk Oblast, his first since Russia claimed to have routed the Ukrainian counter-invasion of the region, accusing the Ukrainian troops that had occupied it of acting like “Neo-Nazis”.
Putin visited an under-construction nuclear power plant and spoke to “volunteers” working in the Kursk Oblast (region) on Tuesday, the Kremlin revealed on Wednesday. He last visited the region in March, but this is the first since Russian forces claimed to have liberated the territory from Ukraine’s counter-occupation, a bid to relieve pressure from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Despite Russia’s assertions that the region is now back under control, Kyiv still claims to hold some Russian territory and war maps produced by the Institute for the Study of War suggests Ukraine at least still holds on to slivers of land in the area. Kyiv, for instance, said on Wednesday that it had engaged with Russian forces in Kursk over the previous 24 hours, saying it had destroyed drones, armoured vehicles, and a bunker, killing Russian soldiers.
President Putin, for his part, leaned on longstanding Russian rhetoric on their invasion of Ukraine having been launched to fight extremism and accused the Ukrainian troops which had managed, as part of a massive diversionary effort, to cling on to Russian territory for months of having acted like “neo-Nazis”. The Russian leader claimed Ukrainian troops had destroyed memorials to the Second World War, which the then-Soviet Union fought against Nazi Germany.
Russian state media claimed he said: “You can understand who we are fighting against, if they directly target monuments dating back to the Second World War era… This gives us every reason to say that they are people with neo-Nazi ideas”.
Putin also spoke to and drank tea with a group of volunteers who have been working on reconstruction efforts in Kursk, including those involved in the demining process. It is stated he praised those volunteers, saying: “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”.
The Presidential visit to Kursk is something of a provocation to Ukraine and the West, which is attempting to manoeuvre Russia towards accepting a ceasefire and peace deal to end the Ukraine War. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that both Russia and Ukraine will “immediately” begin ceasefire negotiations after he spoke to the leaders of both countries by telephone.
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