Vladimir Putin visits Kursk as Russia pushes back Ukrainian troops in captured region

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a command position in Corsak, where his army commander told him that the Moscow forces were about to restore the Ukrainian border area.

Putin’s visit came a few hours after Ukraine agreed to the USA’s 30 -day ceasefire proposal in its war with Russia.

The army ordered that Ukraine forces be removed from the area “in the shortest possible time” and considering the establishment of a buffer zone along the border, according to footage on government television on Wednesday.

With the collapse of Ukraine’s defense in recent days, Valerie Gerasimov, the head of the Russian General Staff, told Putin that their army had seized 400 soldiers and regained 86 percent of the lands that Kiev seized in a sudden attack last summer.

Putin said that the prisoners should be treated “human”, but they warned that any remaining Ukrainian fighters would consider “terrorists.”

After his meeting in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Ukrainian and American officials supported a month ago from hostilities along the entire Ukrainian confrontation line.

On the other hand, the United States resumed military aid and the exchange of intelligence information with Kiev, which was suspended after a bust last month in the Oval Office between Donald Trump and Volodimir Zelinsky.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian President described the meeting with American officials in Jeddah as a “building”. He said that the 30 -day ceasefire was an American proposal that he agreed to after contacting his team.

“I have repeatedly said that no one of us trusts in the Russians, but we will not play with accounts that we do not want this war to end,” Zellinski said, adding that he is “serious” about the planned truce.

Ukraine president said that support from other countries would be necessary to monitor the ceasefire along the 1000 km confrontation line.

In February, Zelinski insisted that the Russian lands kept by the Ukrainian forces in Corsak can be used as a bargaining in peace negotiations.

However, while Ukraine is struggling to defend the area captured, government media in Moscow participated on Wednesday that it had shown that the Russian soldiers were in central Judza, the main municipality in which Ukraine established a command center.

“I don’t think they will be ready to stop in her blackness,” said Solomia Pohbrovska, Ukrainian opposition deputy and member of the National Security and Intelligence Committee.

Olksander Serski, the head of Kiev, said on Wednesday that the Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from parts of Kursk. It was my priority and is still to save the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. For this, our maneuvering forces can to more useful lines. “

Serski added that the fighting continued in Kursk, including the suburbs of Sudzha.

For Ukraine, the ceasefire is being negotiated just as the Ukrainian forces suffer from the military setbacks. In February 2015, Moscow pressed Kiev to signing the ceasefire, just as its forces surrounded the eastern city of Diplsif. But Russia has repeatedly violated the shooting agreement.

“Putin will try to fill Trump’s ears without anything, and Trump will have to decide what he is doing after that,” said Mikhaelo Samos, Ukrainian military analyst. He added that the American president is likely to submit Moscow to lift Western sanctions in exchange for a ceasefire.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian and European allies welcomed the restoration of US military assistance and the exchange of intelligence used by Kiev forces to strike the targets outside the front lines.

“This is an important indication of the whole world that Ukraine’s support is sound,” Andrei Yermak, the chief assistant of the Ukrainian delegation in Jeddah.

Poland Foreign Minister Radik Sikorsky said on Wednesday that the American crossing of military supplies to Ukraine via Poland “returned to the previous levels,” and the Satellink Satellite System in Starlink was owned by Trump Advisor Elon Musk. Poland pays the price of part of that service to Ukraine.

“Russia must now agree to a ceasefire and end the fighting as well,” said British Prime Minister Sir Kerr Starmer.

Starmer said that he would return to European leaders on Saturday to “discuss the following steps” in the “Security Force” plan that was published in Ukraine to deter Russia from the attack again.

Trump said on Wednesday that he could impose “devastating” sanctions if Russia does not agree to a ceasefire.

“I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. He said,” I don’t want to do it because I want to get peace. ”

The Kremlin said she wanted to hear directly from the United States before commenting on the ceasefire proposal. Putin Dmitry Peskov spokesman said on Wednesday that Moscow expected the United States to “inform us of the details of the talks and the reached agreements.”

Peskov said that the invitation between Putin and Trump can be organized “very quickly”, but added that the White House has not yet been asked.

“The President’s team is still participating in” the ceasefire plan, “said Caroline Levitte, a White House press secretary on Wednesday.

The foreign intelligence service in Russia said on Wednesday that its director, Sergey Narishin, had spoken by phone with his American counterpart, head of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, as the two clients agreed to continue regular contact.

Although the Russian forces continued to move forward in Kursk, the progress in the rest of the front lines seemed to stop. In recent days, the Ukrainian forces managed to curb the Russian attacks on the logistical axis of Boukrovsk, and fired counter -attacks towards the Terstsk Center, an industrial city that arrived in August.

On the Pokrovsk front, the unmanned plane operator’s reaction to the proposed ceasefire news was one Ukrainian word: “Pobachymo “ – “We will see”.

Participated in additional reports by Rafael Mind in Warsaw, Henry Foy in Brussels and Felicia Schwartz, Washington; Stephen Bernard’s maps fee