President Putin Orders Russian Troops To Expel Ukrainian Troops From Kursk As Soon As Possible

JAKARTA - President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to immediately expel Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region.

"Indeed, our goal in the near future is to defeat the enemy entrenched in the Kursk Region and engage in military operations here and do so as soon as possible," the president said at a meeting held at a command post in the border area, as reported by TASS March 13.

Yesterday, President Putin visited the Kursk area for the first time since the Ukrainian army controlled several areas there. While holding a meeting at the command post of his troops, President Putin was in military uniform.

President Putin made his visit after Washington asked him to consider a proposed ceasefire for 30 days supported by Ukraine, and after Russian troops retook parts of the territory in Kursk, which forced Ukrainian troops to step down and give up control of Sudzha City, as quoted by Reuters.

The Russian Armed Forces are continuing their operations to wipe out Ukrainian troops in the Kursk Region. Five settlements have been released in the past 24 hours. In particular, Russian troops control the central part of Sudzha City.

President Putin stressed that he is considering setting up a new buffer zone within the Sumy region of Ukraine, which borders Kursk, to protect against potential future Ukrainian attacks.

He also said foreign nationals who fought alongside Ukrainian forces arrested in Kursk had no right to enjoy the protection of the Geneva Convention, and that Ukrainian soldiers arrested in Kursk should be treated as "terrorists."

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Kyiv has lost more than 66,800 troops since fighting began in the Kursk region.

Ukraine caused one of the biggest surprises in the war on August 6 last year by storming borders and seizing a plot of land within Russia, raising citizens' morale and gaining potential as a bargaining chip. It was the first cross-border attack on Russia since World War II.

However, having persisted for more than seven months in a shrinking region, Ukraine has seen its position decline sharply at Kursk in the past week after its main supply line was cut off.

Meanwhile, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian military General, General Valery Gerasimov, was seen informing President Putin that Russian forces had expelled Ukrainian troops from more than 86 percent of the territory they once controlled in the Kursk, which is equivalent to 1,100 square kilometers (425 square miles) of land.

Ukraine's plan to use Kursk as a bargaining chip in the possibility of future negotiations with Russia has failed, Gerasimov added.

Kyiv's move that Kursk's operation would force Russia to divert troops from its progress in eastern Ukraine was also unsuccessful, he continued.

Gerasimov said Russian troops had reclaimed 24 settlements and 259 square kilometers of land from Ukrainian forces in the past five days along with more than 400 detainees.

Russian units have also crossed into the Sumy region of Ukraine where he said they were expanding "security zones."