Vladimir Putin played dress up as he visited the front line in Russia’s Kursk region. The Russian president, who worked as a KGB officer for 16 years before moving into politics, traveled to the region Wednesday—camo and all—for the first time since the Ukrainian army’s shock incursion into Russia. “I am counting on the fact that all the combat tasks facing our units will be fulfilled, and the territory of the Kursk region will soon be completely liberated from the enemy,” he said after the visit. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov told the Kremlin leader that he and his men had retaken 24 settlements in the region in less than a week. Ukraine’s top army commander responded on Facebook, saying that he had pulled his soldiers out. “In the most difficult situation, my priority has been and remains saving the lives of Ukrainian soldiers. To this end, the units of the defense forces, if necessary, maneuver to more favorable positions,” Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky wrote. He added, however, that “despite the increased pressure from the Russian [and] North Korean arm[ies], we will maintain defense in the Kursk region as long as it is appropriate and necessary.”
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