Vladimir Putin has vowed to push Ukrainian forces out of Kursk as he made his first visit to the region since Kyiv's incursion.
In the last few days, Russian troops entered the town of Sudzha near the border that had been occupied by the Ukrainian forces since their surprise incursion into the region last August.
Speaking to military commanders on Wednesday, 12 March, Putin said he expects the military “to completely free the Kursk region from the enemy in the nearest future.”
Ukraine's raid into Kursk was the first foreign occupation of Russian territory since the Second World War.