The president of Russia, Vladimir V. Putin, dressed in fatigue, visited a command post near the front in Kursk on Wednesday evening to encourage the military ejection of the Ukrainian forces of the Russian border region.
The sharp visit of the Russian chief one day after An American delegation met in Saudi Arabia with Ukrainian officials, who agreed with a 30-day ceasefire in the war. US officials planned to take the proposal to Mr. PutinWho previously said that he was not interested in a temporary truce.
Dressed in a green camouflage uniform, Mr. Putin was sitting at an office with cards spread out in front of him, according to photos published by the Kremlin. He appeared with the best Russian military officer, General Valery V. Gerasimov.
In video sequences published by the Russian state media, Mr. Putin praised the Russian military training which had taken over the territory captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region. He called on the troops to seize the territory for good Ukrainian forces, which were occupying parts of the Russian border region since last summer. Kyiv had hoped to use the territory as a negotiation chip in peace talks.
The Russian chief also demanded that the Ukrainian forces seized in the region be treated and pursued as terrorists under Russian law. General Gerasimov said more than 400 Ukrainian soldiers had been captured in operations.
“The people who are in the territory of the Kursk region, committing crimes here against the civilian population and opposing our armed forces, the law enforcement organizations and special services, in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation, are terrorists,” said Putin.
He added that “foreign mercenaries” do not fall under the Geneva Convention governing the treatment of prisoners of war. The conflict, which began with the invasion of Russia on a large scale of Ukraine in February 2022, attracted foreign fighters. This month, Russia sentenced A 22 -year -old British man who volunteered for the Ukrainian army at 19 years in prison for terrorism and the charges of mercenaries, after his Capture in the Kursk region Last year.
Russian forces Intensified an offensive To repel Ukrainian troops in the region this week, while Kyiv rushed to the Trump administration’s decision last week to freeze American information and military assistance to Ukraine after an explosive confrontation in the oval office Between President Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky from Ukraine.
After discussions on Tuesday with Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, the Trump administration announced that it would resume help.
At that time, Russian forces were already on the right track to resume SouthzhaThe main population center of the Kursk region captured by Ukraine last year.
For months, the occupation by Ukraine of the Russian territory was a painful point for Moscow, who strengthened his forces with North Korean soldiers to try to regain the ground.
Russian officials boasted of a revolutionary attack in Kursk last Saturday, when, they said, some 800 fighters traveled around 10 miles through an abandoned gas pipeline to lead a surprise attack in the Ukrainian back.
The best Ukrainian military commander, General Oleksandr Syrsky, said in a declaration That the Ukrainian forces moved to “more advantageous positions” and “would hold the line in the Kursk region as long as it remains reasonable and necessary”. He added: “In the most difficult situations, my priority has been and remains the preservation of the life of Ukrainian soldiers”.
Putin said that any ceasefire or temporary truce will only provide an advantage to Ukrainian forces, which are on the back on the battlefield and could use the stay to reconstruct the staff.
Russia has required A broader security agreement supported by the West, including a guarantee that Ukraine will not be admitted to the NATO military alliance, as well as other commitments which risk eroding the sovereignty of Ukraine.
“We don’t need a truce,” Putin said at his annual conference in December. “We need peace: long -term and lasting peace with guarantees for the Russian Federation and its citizens.”
Marc Santora Ukraine’s contributed reports from Kyiv.
