Putin makes first trip to Kursk region since Russia reported Ukrainian troops fully expelled

Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s Kursk region earlier this week, the Kremlin’s press service announced on Wednesday.

The Russian president met with “representatives of volunteer organizations” and the region’s acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein, the statement said. He also reportedly visited the town of Kurchatov, where he toured the construction site of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant 2.

This was Putin’s first trip tot he region since late April, when the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Ukrainian forces had been fully pushed out of the area (though, as Meduza reported, some Ukrainian troops were still on Russian territory).

Previously, Putin had visited the Kursk region in March, shortly after Russian forces regained control of the town of Sudzha.