Putin visits the Kursk region on the Ukrainian border and reviews efforts to remove mines.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the border region of Kursk with Ukraine, where he checked on the situation, met with officials and volunteers, according to a statement from the Kremlin on Wednesday, May 21.

The statement mentioned that the visit took place on Tuesday, including meetings with acting governor Alexander Khinshtein and representatives of volunteer organizations, discussing ongoing efforts to clear mines in the area.

Khinshtein was quoted in the statement saying: "There is currently a mine clearance operation, with dozens of explosive devices being removed daily."

The meeting also discussed a proposal to establish a museum documenting "the events that took place in the Kursk region during the years 2024 and 2025," aiming to "preserve the memory of what happened here, and the heroism of our defenders and residents," a proposal that received Putin's approval.

The official channel "Russia 24" documented part of the visit, showing footage of President Putin having tea with volunteers around a large table.

The visit also included a meeting for Putin with municipal officials in the city of Kurchatov, home to the Kursk nuclear power station, as well as a visit to the construction site of the new "Kursk-2" nuclear power plant.

This visit comes months after Russia announced the complete liberation of the area from Ukrainian forces at the end of last April, with Putin visiting the region at the end of March expressing hope for its "complete liberation" in the "near future," a sentiment later echoed by Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov.