Camouflaged message from Putin to US President Trump: While awaiting a ceasefire response
After Ukraine announced it was ready to accept a 30-day ceasefire, the US stated that it was now Russia's turn to respond. While everyone was waiting with curiosity to see what Putin would say, a camouflaged message arrived from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a command center in the Kursk region, part of which is under the control of the Ukrainian army, while wearing military uniform.
According to a video shared by the Kremlin, Putin, who visited the region for the first time since Ukraine crossed the border on August 6, 2024, arrived at a command center in military camouflage. Putin received a briefing from Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov regarding the situation in the region.
Gerasimov reported that more than 1,100 square kilometers of the Kursk region, corresponding to 86 percent of the area entered by the Ukrainian army last August, have been liberated. Stating that 24 settlements and an area of 259 square kilometers have been reclaimed in the last 5 days, Gerasimov provided information that the Ukrainian army's losses in the Kursk region have exceeded 67 thousand soldiers.
Chief of General Staff Gerasimov said, "Kyiv wanted to create a springboard in the Kursk region and make the situation a subject of negotiation. Kyiv's plans for Russian territory have ended in failure."
Stating that the Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the Kursk region have been surrounded, isolated, and are continuing to be systematically destroyed, Gerasimov used the expression, "Russian troops continue to liberate Russian territory with the goal of reaching the state border as soon as possible."
"THE KURSK REGION MUST BE COMPLETELY LIBERATED"
Putin began his speech by thanking the Russian military units and commanders who repelled the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region.
Stating that the Ukrainian military units in the Kursk region must be defeated as soon as possible, Putin said, "The Kursk region must be completely liberated and we must restore the state border to its former state. Of course, we must think about creating a security zone along the state border in the future."
"THOSE CAPTURED WILL BE TREATED AS TERRORISTS"
Stating that Ukrainian soldiers who are on the territory of the Kursk region, who have committed crimes against the civilian population there, and who have resisted Russian security forces are "terrorists" according to Russian law, Putin noted that legal proceedings have been initiated against these individuals.
Saying that Russia will treat prisoners captured in the Kursk region as 'terrorists', Putin used the expression, "We treat all people humanely, and we must continue to treat them humanely. Everyone who falls into our hands. At the same time, I would like to remind you that foreign mercenaries do not fall under the scope of the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War."
Thanking the units that have recently liberated settlements in the Kursk region from Ukrainian soldiers again, Putin said, "I sincerely hope that all combat missions facing our troops will be fulfilled unconditionally and that the territory of the Kursk region will be completely liberated from the enemy in the near future."