Putin issues orders in military uniform on the Kursk front: 'Ukraine must be defeated as soon as possible'
During a visit to the Kursk region, which is under the control of the Ukrainian army, Putin inspected a command center while wearing a military uniform. Receiving information about the latest situation in the region from Russian Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, Putin reported that Ukrainian troops had been encircled and that 430 Ukrainian soldiers had been taken prisoner.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the Kursk region must be completely liberated and the state border restored to its former state. Putin's visit to Kursk took place immediately after the US decision to send a delegation to Russia for a ceasefire. While US President Donald Trump announced that Ukraine had accepted the ceasefire, he stated that they could resort to methods such as financial sanctions to persuade Russia to reach an agreement. Trump added that 'there is no need for such steps'.
Gerasimov announced that 24 settlements and 259 square kilometers of territory had been reclaimed in the Kursk region over the last 5 days. Stating that the Ukrainian army's losses in the region have exceeded 67 thousand, Gerasimov expressed that Kyiv's plans for Russian territory have ended in failure.
According to RT News, in a statement made after his visit, Putin reminded that the Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region 'must be defeated as soon as possible' and expressed that they should consider 'creating a security zone along the border'. Putin said that Ukrainian soldiers who committed crimes against the civilian population in the region would be considered terrorists and that legal proceedings had been initiated.
Thanking the Russian troops, Putin used the following expression:
'I sincerely hope that the territory of the Kursk region will be completely liberated from the enemy in the near future.'
WILL FOREIGN SOLDIERS BE TRIED?
Announcing that the captured soldiers will be treated as terrorists under Russian law, Putin stated that foreign soldiers could be tried in courts. The Russian leader pointed out that 'foreign mercenaries' are not covered by the Geneva Convention. The convention prohibited the mistreatment of captured soldiers.
According to The New York Times (NYT), it was announced that the US has resumed the flow of intelligence support and military aid to Ukraine. The White House announced that it made this decision after Kyiv gave the green light to a 30-day ceasefire. National Security Council (NSC) Spokesperson James Hewitt claimed that significant progress had been made in the US-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia and confirmed that military aid had resumed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed Trump in a letter that he was ready to sign a rare earth elements agreement and to engage in peace talks. Following this development, US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe announced that intelligence support and military shipments to Ukraine had been temporarily halted, but that this was a temporary measure.