Russian President Vladimir Putin emerged from what his critics call "the bunker" and arrived in military uniform at the front in a rare visit to Kursk region, while Russian forces continue to record significant achievements against Ukrainian forces that invaded the border area last August. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump threatens severe economic consequences if Putin refuses to agree to a proposed 30-day ceasefire.
Russia continues to record achievements in the Kursk region on the Ukrainian border and claims it is close to fully liberating the region. "We have taken 430 soldiers prisoner, Kyiv is beginning to surrender", Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov updated Putin during their meeting in the disputed area. The Ukrainian army reports a partial withdrawal from its positions in Kursk.
Trump addressed the proposal for a month-long ceasefire and claimed he might punish Putin if he refuses: "I can take economic steps that would be devastating for Moscow," the American President warned from the White House.
Russia reported this evening (Wednesday) additional achievements in the Kursk region on the Ukrainian border, and claims it is close to its full liberation – more than half a year after the invasion by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine stunned the Russian army in August when its forces crossed the border en masse and captured dozens of settlements in the Kursk region. The invasion took place while the war on Ukrainian territory continues, and the assumption was that Kyiv chose to invade Kursk in order to hold it ahead of future negotiations in which Kyiv would demand that Moscow return territories captured from it.
In the half year that has passed since then, through fierce battles, Russia has managed to push back a significant portion of the Ukrainian forces, also with the help of masses of soldiers who arrived to assist from North Korea. In recent days, against the backdrop of Ukrainian willingness for a month-long ceasefire in the war, and US mediation efforts, the Russian army has increased the pace of attacks and recorded achievements in the fighting in Kursk.
Today, for the first time since the invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the border region and met with Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Gerasimov said this evening that the Russian army had taken 430 Ukrainian soldiers prisoner in Kursk. In the meeting with Putin, the Chief of Staff told him: "The Ukrainian army, experiencing failure of further resistance, is beginning to surrender. 430 soldiers have been captured".
Putin told him that Russia should treat the captured soldiers "like terrorists" (apparently his intention was to sentence them to decades in prison). In addition, Putin said that the Russian army needs to complete the liberation of the region as soon as possible.
According to Gerasimov, the Russian army has so far liberated "more than 1,100 square kilometers" – an area which he says constitutes "more than 86% of the territory captured" by Kyiv. According to the Chief of Staff, just in the last five days "five settlements and an area of 259 square kilometers were liberated in Kursk".
Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Ukrainian Chief of General Staff, said today that the fighting in Kursk will continue as long as necessary – but hinted that Kyiv has begun to withdraw some of its forces from the Russian border region. "In the most difficult situations, my priority was, and remains, to save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers", Syrskyi clarified. "For this purpose, the units of the defense forces, if necessary, will maneuver to more convenient positions" (the French news agency AFP noted that Ukraine uses this term to describe a withdrawal of its forces).
The Ukrainian Chief of Staff rejected at this stage the possibility of a complete withdrawal from Kursk. "Despite the growing pressure from the Russian and North Korean armies, we will remain in the Kursk region as long as needed," he said. According to him, the Russian army suffered heavy losses when trying to achieve "political gains" and remove the Ukrainians from the region. According to Syrskyi, meanwhile, fighting continues in the area of the strategic town of Sudzha, which the Ukrainians captured during the invasion in August. According to him, the town "has been almost completely destroyed".
Yesterday, after a meeting in Saudi Arabia between the foreign ministers and senior advisors of the US and Ukraine, Washington and Kyiv announced that the Trump administration had agreed to renew aid to the Ukrainian army and intelligence sharing with it, after Volodymyr Zelensky's government expressed willingness to support Washington's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Russia. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the US will present the proposal to Russia, and said that "our hope is that the Russians will answer 'yes' as soon as possible", so that progress can be made toward opening negotiations on ending the war.
Today, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that Russia will make its decisions on its own, and not "following agreements by other parties." Russian sources told Reuters news agency that it is unlikely that Putin will agree to the 30-day ceasefire.
Following the talks in Saudi Arabia, Zelensky called on Trump to take harsh measures against Russia if it refuses the ceasefire. "We are talking about sanctions and strengthening Ukraine", Zelensky said yesterday. This evening, Trump hinted that he might economically punish Moscow if it refuses the temporary ceasefire. He also noted that he had received "positive messages" regarding the ceasefire, but such messages, he said, have no meaning. He added that American emissaries are now making their way to Russia.
"Now it depends on Russia", Trump said at the White House. "Our people are now on their way from there, hoping that we can achieve a ceasefire from Russia." He did not explicitly promise to punish it with sanctions if it doesn't agree to a temporary ceasefire, but said he could "do things economically that would be very bad for Russia." He emphasized: "I don't want to do this, because I want to achieve peace". The American President warned that the economic measures he might impose "would be devastating for Moscow".
Photo: Kremlin Press Service
