Abdullah Al-Haqim 
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Russian forces in the Kursk region in the west of the country suddenly, yesterday, Wednesday, wearing a military uniform, as the forces ordered their rapid progress and restore the rest of the region from the Ukrainian forces.
Putin’s visit came after Washington asked him to consider the 30 -day ceasefire proposal, which is supported by Ukraine, and after Russian forces regained more lands in Korsk, forcing the Ukrainian forces to retreat and abandon the town of Soda.
Ukraine had detonated one of the largest surprises in the war on August 6, 2024 by storming the borders and seizing a segment of Russian territory, which strengthened the morale of the Ukrainians and gave Kiev a possible negotiation paper.
However, after clinging to more than seven months in the area that gradually took over the Russian forces, Ukraine witnessed a sharp deterioration in its position in your Corsak during the past few days after cutting its main supply lines.
Putin explained that he is considering creating a new buffer zone within the Ukrainian area of Sumi, adjacent to the Corsak, to ward off any possible Ukrainian incursions in the future.
The Russian president said that foreign citizens who are fighting with the Ukrainian forces who were captured in Kursk have no right to enjoy the protection provided by the Geneva Conventions, adding that the Ukrainian soldiers who were captured in Kursk should be treated as “terrorists”.
Putin said: “Our mission is in the near future, and in the shortest possible time, it is to cause a overwhelming defeat to the fortified enemy in the Kursk region, which is still fighting here, liberating the lands of the Kursk region completely, and returning the situation to normal along the border line,” Putin said.
He added, “Of course, we have to think about creating a security area along the border.”
Valery Girassemov, head of the Russian General Staff, told President Putin that Russian forces expelled the Ukrainian forces from more than 86 percent of the lands they controlled in Corsak, which is equivalent to 1100 square kilometers of land.
Girassemov said that the Russian forces have regained 24 towns and 259 square kilometers of land from the Ukrainian forces in the past five days, along with more than 400 prisoners.
Russian units also crossed to the Ukrainian area, where it was reported that they expanded a “security zone”.
Reuters was unable to verify the Chief of Staff statement independently.
But Reuters managed to check a video posted by Russian bloggers and official media, showing soldiers standing carrying the Russian flag in a square in the center of the town of Soda, located near the Ukrainian border on a highway used by Ukraine to bring supplies.
The “Deep State” website, a reliable Ukrainian website that paints the confrontation lines in the war, updated the map of the battlefield to show that the Ukrainian forces no longer control Suda.
However, the site reported that the fighting continues on the outskirts of the town.
The Ukrainian army commander said yesterday, Wednesday, that the Ukrainian forces will continue their operations in the Kursk region as long as the need arises, adding that the fighting continues in the city of Soda and its surroundings.
“The Ukrainian armed forces leave Corsak. No Ukrainian soldier will remain there by Friday,” Scadowski Defander, a Ukrainian military blogger, told Telegram.
However, the post indicated that Ukraine continues to carry out strong strikes on Soda.
