Putin Tours Kursk Region After Ukraine’s Bold Incursion Fails, Peace Talks Stall

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare trip to the Kursk region on Tuesday, his first since Russian forces pushed Ukrainian troops out last month. The visit underscores Moscow’s intent to project control after Ukraine’s audacious incursion shook the region. Putin toured the Kursk-II nuclear power plant and met with volunteers and local officials, including acting Gov. Alexander Khinshtein, flanked by Kremlin deputy Sergei Kiriyenko.

The Kremlin hailed the expulsion of Ukrainian forces as a triumph, ending what was described as the largest foreign incursion into Russian territory since World War II. Ukraine’s August 6 offensive, backed by drones and Western-supplied weapons, briefly claimed roughly 540 square miles of Kursk, rattling Russian defenses.

Putin’s visit comes on the heels of stalled peace talks in Turkey, the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since Moscow’s 2022 invasion. Despite hopes for a ceasefire, both sides left without a deal, leaving the conflict’s resolution as murky as a Moscow winter.