President Vladimir Putin donned military fatigues for a surprise visit to troops in Russia’s western Kursk region on Wednesday where he ordered them to press their lightning advance and swiftly retake the rest of the area from Ukrainian forces.
Putin made his visit after Washington asked him to consider a 30-day ceasefire proposal backed by Ukraine, and after Russian forces retook a swathe of territory in Kursk, forcing Ukrainian troops to fall back and cede control of the town of Sudzha.
Ukraine sprang one of the biggest shocks of the war on August 6 last year by storming across the border and grabbing a chunk of land inside Russia, boosting citizens’ morale and gaining a potential bargaining chip.
But after clinging for more than seven months to a gradually shrinking area, Ukraine has seen its position worsen sharply in Kursk in the past week after its main supply lines were severed.
Putin made it clear he was considering setting up a new buffer zone inside Ukraine’s Sumy region, which is adjacent to Kursk, to guard against any future potential Ukrainian incursions.