Putin pays first visit to Kursk since after recapturing the city

President Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to Russia’s Kursk region on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, for the first time since Moscow claimed to have expelled Ukrainian forces from the area.

This was confirmed by the Kremlin confirmed on Wednesday.

His visit on Tuesday was viewed as an attempt to demonstrate that Russia maintains control over the region.

Also, it showed the broader conflict with Ukraine, despite the ongoing and costly nature of its full-scale invasion.

The Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, was the site of a major Ukrainian military breakthrough in August 2024.

In what has been described as one of Kyiv’s most significant battlefield achievements in the three-year-old war, Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion and temporarily occupied Russian territory.

Analysts say this was something not seen since World War II.

The move dealt a major psychological and strategic blow to the Kremlin, challenging Russia’s claims of dominance and territorial security.

Although Russia has mostly maintained the upper hand on the battlefield since the end of 2023, the situation in Kursk stood out as a notable exception.

According to Ukraine, along with confirmations from the United States and South Korea, North Korea sent up to 12,000 troops to assist Russian forces in reclaiming the territory.

On April 26, Russia announced that it had successfully pushed Ukrainian forces out of the area.

This is one claim that Ukrainian officials have publicly denied.

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s Army General Staff reported that its forces had repelled 13 Russian assaults in the Kursk region.

Their military activity map indicated that Ukrainian troops still held a narrow strip of land just across the border, inside Russian territory.

Putin’s surprise visit was widely interpreted as a strategic gesture to project strength and control.

This comes amid increasing international pressure, with recent proposals from the United States and European nations calling for a ceasefire.

Putin, reportedly has effectively rejected.

His visit is seen as an attempt to reaffirm Russia’s commitment to its military objectives.

This is as the conflict remains protracted and costly in terms of human lives and equipment losses.

During his time in Kursk, Russian state media broadcast footage of Putin touring the under-construction Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2.

The footage also showed him meeting with selected local volunteers in a closed-door session.

Many of the volunteers wore clothing bearing the Russian flag and the Latin letters “Z” and “V,” symbols that have come to represent Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Addressing the volunteers, Putin praised their efforts, 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.”

He was seen sharing tea with them during the visit.

Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk was a bold and logistically challenging operation carried out in secrecy.

It contrasted sharply with the prevailing narrative of Ukrainian forces being steadily pushed back by Russia’s larger army.

Kyiv’s strategy aimed not only to demonstrate that Russian defenses had vulnerabilities but also to divert Russian attention from the heavily contested Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Despite the audacity of the move, analysts warned that it could strain Ukraine’s already stretched forces, which are tasked with defending a front line that spans approximately 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).

Ultimately, the incursion did not dramatically alter the overall trajectory of the war.

While in Kursk, Putin met with acting regional Governor Alexander Khinshtein.

He expressed his support for continuing monthly compensation payments to families displaced by the fighting.

Putin also backed a proposal to build a museum commemorating what Khinshtein called “the heroism of our defenders and the heroism of the region’s residents.”

The Kremlin’s response comes after rare protests from local residents frustrated by a lack of financial support.

Putin previously visited the region in March, when Ukrainian forces still controlled parts of Kursk.

On that visit, he wore military fatigues, a rare departure from his usual suit, and was filmed at military headquarters with top Russian generals.

In other developments, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its air defenses shot down 159 Ukrainian drones overnight.

These included 53 over Oryol and 51 over Bryansk.

In Ukraine, Russian drone attacks killed two civilians and injured five others in the northern Sumy region.

Additionally, in the Kyiv region, four members of a family were wounded when debris from a downed drone struck their home.

Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia had launched 76 Shahed drones and decoy drones in the latest overnight assault.

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