Egypt Daily News – On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kursk region in what the Kremlin described as his first trip to the area since its full liberation from Ukrainian forces on April 26. According to an official statement, this marks Putin’s second visit to Kursk in recent months, the previous one taking place in March following the successful completion of “Operation Potok,” which reportedly enabled Russian forces to penetrate deep into Ukrainian positions within the region.
During his latest visit, Putin toured the construction site of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant-2 in the city of Kurchatov. He also chaired a meeting with the region’s municipal leaders and held discussions with Alexander Khinshtein, the acting governor of Kursk, along with representatives of volunteer organizations.
Putin used the visit to reinforce his narrative about the ongoing conflict, stating that the destruction of World War II memorials by Ukrainian forces is evidence that Russia is “fighting neo-Nazis.” He further warned that Ukrainian military units are still attempting to breach Russian borders, underscoring the continued volatility along the frontlines.
On the military front, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced that its forces had downed 159 Ukrainian drones within a 12-hour period, following recent drone attacks targeting border regions such as Bryansk and Kursk. The ministry reported that 127 drones were intercepted early Wednesday morning, while an additional 32 were destroyed between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. GMT.
Ukraine has frequently launched drone attacks on Russian territory in retaliation for the near-daily bombardments it has endured over the past three years. The sharp escalation in drone warfare comes just days after a phone call between Presidents Putin and Biden, which ended without any breakthrough toward a ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military claimed that total Russian military casualties since the start of the war on February 24, 2022, have reached approximately 976,780, with 980 of those reported in the past 24 hours alone.
In another development, the Ukrainian National Guard confirmed that a recent Russian strike on a training site killed six Ukrainian soldiers and injured more than ten others. The incident occurred during live-fire drills, and a formal investigation has been launched.
As fighting continues, Ukrainian authorities have begun evacuating over 200 residential areas in the Sumy region near the Russian border. Military governor Oleh Hryhorov announced that around 52,000 people — roughly 60% of the 86,000 civilians targeted for evacuation — have already been relocated to safer areas. He stated that the government is providing transportation, shelter, humanitarian aid, and psychological support, although no timeline was given for the completion of the evacuation.
The developments underscore the enduring intensity of the conflict and the deepening humanitarian crisis, with both sides trading accusations and escalating operations across multiple fronts.
The Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine has been subjected to intense Russian attacks for several months and is now considered by military analysts as one of the likely targets for a major summer offensive by Moscow.
Earlier this week, the Russian military launched a drone strike on a minibus near the town of Bilopillia in the Sumy region. According to Ukrainian officials, the vehicle was intended to transport civilians to safer areas. The attack resulted in the deaths of nine people, adding to the growing civilian toll in the border region.
Amid the ongoing hostilities, Moscow and Kyiv held direct talks last week in Istanbul — the first such engagement since spring 2022. However, like the recent phone call between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the discussions failed to yield any significant breakthroughs.
Commenting on the situation, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that he expects Russia to present its conditions for a ceasefire “in the coming days.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, remains skeptical of Moscow’s intentions, accusing the Kremlin of merely trying to “buy time.”
Kyiv has called for an immediate and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create space for meaningful peace negotiations. Moscow, on the other hand, insists that any negotiations must occur in parallel with ongoing military operations — a stance that continues to hinder the prospects for a diplomatic resolution.
As tensions mount on both the military and diplomatic fronts, the humanitarian crisis in regions like Sumy deepens, with large-scale evacuations underway and civilians caught in the crossfire of an unrelenting conflict.
