Dressed in military fatigues for a surprise visit to soldiers in the Russian region of Kursk on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces to swiftly recapture the rest of the area

Russian forces have seized Sudzha in the Kursk region and are engaged in combat with the Ukrainian Armed Forces in border villages of the Sumy region. The Russian army may attempt to create a buffer zone near the Russian-Ukrainian border,

Russian forces have begun an assault on the town of Sudzha, the main population center in the Kursk region that was captured by Ukraine last year, a top Russian commander said on Tuesday. The advance puts Moscow on the verge of ending the first invasion of Russian territory since World War II.