Russia claims Putin visits Kursk region less than 100 km from Ukraine
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin (kremlin.ru)
Russia claims that President Vladimir Putin has traveled to the Kursk region, allegedly visiting Kurchatov, which lies less than 100 km from the Ukrainian border, the Kremlin's official website reports.
The exact date of the working visit was not specified, only that it took place the day before. The Kremlin stated that Putin met with volunteers and the Acting Governor of the Kursk region, Alexander Khinshtein.
Russians also informed that the President was allegedly in the city of Kurchatov, where he visited the under-construction Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP)-2.
In reality, neither the Kremlin nor Russian media provided concrete evidence of Putin's visit to the Kursk region. The Kremlin's website published a photo of the Russian leader at a white table with cups and candy.
Photo: Putin allegedly visited Kursk region (kremlin.ru)
Propagandist Pavel Zarubin showed footage allegedly depicting Putin at Kursk NPP-2, but the exact date of the footage remains unclear.
For reference, Kurchatov is the third-largest city in the Kursk region and is home to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. It is located about 80 km from the Ukrainian border.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops continue to hold positions within the Kursk region, despite Russian claims of liberating the area.
Not word about war
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops continue to hold positions within the Kursk region, despite Russian claims of liberating the area.
As noted by Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, Russian propaganda outlets are actively spreading news about Putin's visit to Kursk, placing emphasis on a civil agenda - a meeting with volunteers, demining issues, refugees, and a visit to the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
The Center stresses that the avoidance of references to the war and the focus on supposedly peaceful life is a Kremlin information tactic aimed at creating the illusion of stability and full control.
"With such staged 'calm,' the Kremlin seeks to conceal the real situation on the border with Ukraine. These types of visits are also used by the Kremlin as a PR tool to 'talk over' losses and failures at the front,” the statement says.
Photo: Territories in the Kursk region controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (screenshot from deepstatemap.live)
Fighting in Kursk region
On August 6, 2024, Ukrainian Defense Forces launched an offensive operation in the Kursk region. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for the first time in 11 years of war, hostilities shifted onto Russian territory.
At the peak of the operation, Ukrainian forces controlled up to 1,300 square kilometers of the Kursk region, but Russia launched a counteroffensive, deploying around 12,000 North Korean troops to the battles.
According to Ukraine's General Staff, since the start of the Kursk operation, the enemy has lost 63,172 troops killed and wounded, about 4,000 of whom were North Korean soldiers.
At the end of April 2025, Russia announced the alleged "liberation" of the Kursk region. However, the Ukrainian military denied this. In the past 24 hours, on the Kursk front, Ukraine's Defense Forces repelled 13 enemy assault attempts.
