Putin visits Kursk, vows to 'completely liberate' region from Ukrainian forces

Russia's Putin visits Kursk region for the first time since Ukraine attacked it.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to the western Kursk region on March 12, his first since Ukrainian forces gained ground in the area.

Dressed in a pixelated military uniform, Putin was seen on state television at a Russian control centre, assessing battlefield developments.

"Our task is in the nearest future, in the shortest possible time, to completely defeat the enemy who has dug in on the territory of Kursk region and is still conducting military operations here, to completely liberate the territory of Kursk region, to restore the situation along the state border line. And, of course, we need to think, I would ask you to think about the future and the creation of a security zone along the state border. We need to think about this too," Putin told senior military officials.

Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov briefed Putin, stating that Ukrainian troops in the region were now surrounded. "Its systematic destruction is underway," Gerasimov said.

"In total, more than 1,100 square kilometers of territory have been liberated during the offensive operations, which is more than 86% of the area previously occupied by the enemy. During the military operations in the Kursk direction, the enemy has lost more than 67,000 servicemen. These are the best trained and highly motivated units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and also formations of foreign mercenaries," Gerasimov added.

Putin urged Russian forces to swiftly expel Ukrainian troops and called for captured soldiers to be treated as terrorists.

"People who are in the Kursk region, who commit crimes against civilians here, who oppose our armed forces, law enforcement agencies and special services, ... are the people we should certainly treat as terrorists," he said, adding that Russia would not extend Geneva Convention protections to foreigners fighting for Ukraine.

(With Reuters Input)