The Russian operation at Kursk is in its final stage, the Kremlin says as US negotiators head to Moscow.
The Russian operation to discharge Ukrainian troops from the Western Russian region of Kursk has entered its final stages, state communications agency TASS reported Thursday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to Kursk on Wednesday since Ukrainian forces seized territory in the region.
The news comes as US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that negotiators headed to Russia “now” for talks on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine after Kiev agreed to a 30-day suspension.
Trump did not provide further details, but the White House later said that his special envoy, Steve Witkov, would go to Moscow later this week.
Trump didn’t say this the next time he spoke to Putin, but added, “I hope he will launch a ceasefire.” “It’s up to Russia now,” the US president said.
The drone view shows the screen glove obtained by Reuters from social media video on March 12, 2025, where it is reportedly advancing Russian troops in the Kursk region of Russia. Photo: Social Media/Reuters
Ukraine is suffering more and more on the battlefield, losing ground in the east and south of the country, and officials said eight people were killed on Wednesday.
Russia also reclaimed territory in the Western Kursk region and pushed back Ukrainian troops that had launched a shocking attack last August.
Putin was on display at Russian TV visiting forces in Kursk on Wednesday.
“We rely on the fact that all the combat tasks our units face will be met, and the territory of the Kursk region will soon be fully freed from the enemy,” Putin said.
Russian General Valery, Prime Minister Jerasimov, said 430 Ukrainian troops had been captured and President Putin called them “terrorists.”
General Oleksandr Silsky, the Ukrainian military commander, showed that some troops in Kursk were retracting to “more advantageous positions.”
Share
Important Events
Shows key events only
Please turn on JavaScript and use this feature
Poland calls for nuclear weapons to be transferred to its territory as a deterrent – Report
The Polish president urged the United States to transfer nuclear weapons to territory as a deterrent to future Russian aggression. He said he recently had discussions with Trump’s special envoys to Keith Kellogg in Ukraine and Russia.
“There should also be a shift in NATO infrastructure east in 1999, as the NATO border moved east in 26 years. This is clear to me,” FT said in an interview that Andrzej Duda said.
If these weapons were already in the country, it would be safer, Duda said.
Share
One in multiple Ukrainian cities attacked on Thursday morning, one was killed in Kherson
Russia defeated 77 Ukrainian drones in one night, the Ministry of Defense said on Thursday, two days after Kiev took the biggest direct strike in Moscow during the Three Years’ War.
Multiple Ukrainian cities were also attacked Thursday morning, killing a 42-year-old woman in Herson, according to Headmaster Roma Murochiko, a local junta.
Authorities at Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk also reported that they were under attack.
Share
The Russian operation at Kursk is in its final stage, the Kremlin says as US negotiators head to Moscow.
The Russian operation to discharge Ukrainian troops from the Western Russian region of Kursk has entered its final stages, state communications agency TASS reported Thursday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to Kursk on Wednesday since Ukrainian forces seized territory in the region.
The news comes as US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that negotiators headed to Russia “now” for talks on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine after Kiev agreed to a 30-day suspension.
Trump did not provide further details, but the White House later said that his special envoy, Steve Witkov, would go to Moscow later this week.
Trump didn’t say this the next time he spoke to Putin, but added, “I hope he will launch a ceasefire.” “It’s up to Russia now,” the US president said.
The drone view shows the screen glove obtained by Reuters from social media video on March 12, 2025, where it is reportedly advancing Russian troops in the Kursk region of Russia. Photo: Social Media/Reuters
Ukraine is suffering more and more on the battlefield, losing ground in the east and south of the country, and officials said eight people were killed on Wednesday.
Russia also reclaimed territory in the Western Kursk region and pushed back Ukrainian troops that had launched a shocking attack last August.
Putin was on display at Russian TV visiting forces in Kursk on Wednesday.
“We rely on the fact that all the combat tasks our units face will be met, and the territory of the Kursk region will soon be fully freed from the enemy,” Putin said.
Russian General Valery General Jerasimov said 430 Ukrainian troops had been captured and President Putin called them “terrorists.”
General Oleksandr Silsky, the Ukrainian military commander, showed that some troops in Kursk were retracting to “more advantageous positions.”
Share
Opening Summary
The Russian operation to discharge Ukrainian troops from the Western Russian region of Kursk has entered its final stages, state communications agency TASS reported Thursday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visit to Kursk on Wednesday since Ukrainian forces seized territory in the region.
The news comes as US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that negotiators headed to Russia “now” for talks on a possible ceasefire with Ukraine after Kiev agreed to a 30-day suspension.
Trump did not provide further details, but the White House later said that his special envoy, Steve Witkov, would go to Moscow later this week.
Trump didn’t say this the next time he spoke to Putin, but added, “I hope he will launch a ceasefire.” “It’s up to Russia now,” the US president said.
Other important recent developments include:
General Oleksandr Silsky, the Ukrainian army commander, suggested that his forces were pulling back to minimize Kursk’s losses. “In the most difficult situations, my priority is to save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers and still exists. For this purpose, Defense Forces forces will pilot them in a more advantageous position, if necessary,” Silski posted online in the terminology normally used to describe withdrawal.
Silsky said the Russian army is suffering from huge losses of personnel and equipment while trying to achieve “political interests” by trying to drive away Ukrainian forces. Sudzha is the largest settlement Ukraine seized in Kursk, and the Ukraine-based Deep State Open-Source Mapping Project on Wednesday showed that Kyiv is no longer in full control over it. “The enemy is using attack forces from air forces and special operations forces to break through our defenses, drive troops out of the Kursk region and move the battle to the territory of the Smie and Karkiv region,” Silsky said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is doing “as much as possible” to protect soldiers. “The Russians are clearly trying to put maximum pressure on our troops, and our military headquarters is doing what it has to do,” the Ukrainian president told a news conference in Kiev. “We save the lives of our soldiers as much as possible.”
Donald Trump suggested that if the Ukrainian president fails to support the 30-day ceasefire agreed between a meeting of Ukrainians and US delegations in Saudi Arabia, Russia could be a financial target as the Ukrainian president urged him to take strong measures. Washington, Kiev and Europe are waiting for Moscow to respond to the proposal, and US envoys are expected to hold consultations with Putin by the weekend. The Kremlin has not publicly stated whether it will support an immediate ceasefire. If Putin refuses, Trump said he could “do things financially, which would be very bad for Russia.”
Zelensky said he expects strong measures from Washington if Russia rejects the ceasefire proposal. “We understand that we can expect a strong step. I don’t know the details yet, but we’re talking about sanctions. [against Russia] Strengthening of Ukraine. ”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington wanted a Moscow agreement with no strings attached. “That’s what we want to know – if they’re ready to do it unconditionally,” Rubio said on a plane heading to the G7 conference in Canada. “If the response is yes, we know that we have made real progress and we have a real opportunity for peace. If their response is no, it will be very unhappy and will make their intentions clear.”
The US threat came when French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecorne told a press conference in Paris that he could come as soon as the announcement of a ceasefire comes on Thursday and that he must prepare to enforce Europe. The defense ministers of five major European military forces (UK, Germany, Italy, Poland and France) met in the French capital on Wednesday to discuss the formation of a “power of security” that will guarantee peace in Ukraine if a settlement is agreed. “We want to see a ceasefire tomorrow,” Recorne said, saying the 15 countries are willing to contribute to the power of up to 30,000 staff to permanently protect Ukraine’s airports, ports and infrastructure.
Share
Source link
