Russian President Vladimir Putin visited troops in the Kursk region on Wednesday, ordering a full liberation of the area and calling captured Ukrainian fighters “terrorists.”
State television broadcast images of Putin wearing a camouflage-print shirt as he listened to a briefing from Armed Forces Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Putin had visited one of the command centers overseeing Russian operations in the region.
“I am counting on the fact that all the combat tasks facing our units will be fulfilled, and the territory of the Kursk region will soon be completely liberated from the enemy,” Putin said in televised remarks.
Russian forces have been engaged in a counteroffensive in Kursk, pushing back Ukrainian troops who have controlled parts of the region since August. Gerasimov reported that 430 Ukrainian soldiers had been captured during the fighting.
Putin stated that the captured fighters should be treated as terrorists under Russian law, indicating they could face prosecution and long prison sentences.
