President Vladimir Putin visited Russia's Kursk region for the first time since Moscow claimed that it drove Ukrainian forces out of the area last month, the Kremlin said Wednesday.

The announcement was made ahead of an expected prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia on Friday – an outcome of last week’s face-to-face talks in Turkey, the first time the two countries have held direct talks at any level in three years.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the Russian leader’s comments on creating a "buffer zone" only reinforce the fact that Russia is the obstacle to peace efforts. Source: comment by Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi Details: Tykhyi pointed out that similar statements from Putin have been made before.

After call with Trump, Putin still refuses full ceasefire, again cites Russia's 'root causes' of war in Ukraine Zelensky dismisses Putin's demand to withdraw troops from 4 Ukrainian regions Commander of Ukraine's 59th Brigade replaced,