Russian Media Spotlight Putin’s Kursk Visit While Silencing Ongoing Fighting
Russian state-controlled media have extensively covered President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to the Kursk region, yet conspicuously omit the persistent hostilities continuing in the area.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD).
Although the Russian Ministry of Defense officially declared the “complete liberation” of the Kursk region, intense clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces persist along the border zone. Kremlin-affiliated outlets, however, deliberately focus their narratives on civilian-related activities, highlighting Putin’s engagements with local volunteer organizations, demining operations, humanitarian assistance to displaced persons, and his inspection of the under-construction Kursk-II nuclear power plant.
The CCD identifies this selective reporting as a calculated information strategy by Moscow aimed at projecting an illusion of stability and absolute control over the region. By emphasizing purported peaceful civilian developments, the Kremlin seeks to obscure ongoing military challenges and battlefield setbacks.
This information facade serves multiple Kremlin objectives: it mitigates domestic public concern over military losses, counters negative war sentiment, and functions as a tool for political propaganda designed to deflect attention from unresolved security issues on Russia’s southwestern frontier.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces continue to contest control in the area. Just days before Putin’s visit, Ukrainian FPV drone units from the State Border Guard Service successfully neutralized Russian positions, destroyed communication infrastructure, and eliminated enemy personnel near Kursk, underscoring the volatility of the frontline despite Moscow’s claims.
Putin’s appearance in the region marks his first public visit since the Kremlin announced the expulsion of Ukrainian troops last month, ending the largest cross-border Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory since World War II. Yet the ongoing fighting and recent Ukrainian tactical gains reveal that Kursk remains a contested and strategically significant battleground.
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