Putin Admits Ukrainian Forces Still Fighting In Russia (Worthy News In-Depth)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

KYIV/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Russia’s President Vladimir Putin admitted Wednesday that Ukrainian soldiers were still fighting in Kursk, just days after Moscow claimed it “regained full control” over that Russian region.

Putin said “small groups” of Ukrainian soldiers were “holed up in basements and hideouts” in Kursk. Speaking at an event in Moscow on Wednesday, the Russian president claimed radio intercepts suggested that the “few Ukrainians” left behind in the western region were asking commanders to “evacuate” them.

However, his remarks underscored Ukraine’s assertion that Russian forces did not fully recapture the territory of Kursk Oblast, as the area is officially known.

The Kremlin’s claim of victory on April 26 prompted a quick denial by Kyiv, which wants to keep Kursk as a bargaining chip in future negotiations on ending the more than three-year Russia-Ukraine war.

Yet Putin said the remaining Ukrainian forces are asking commanders for evacuation. “They’ve been pushed out of Kursk Oblast, but remnants are still hiding in cracks and basements, asking to be evacuated,” Putin added.

The Russian president’s remarks follow his April 26 phone call with top military commanders in the region, in which he praised the “successful operation” to expel Ukrainian troops from Kursk.

FIGHTING CONTINUES

Ukraine’s military said fighting continues in Kursk. Additionally, Russian troops have so far been unsuccessful in trying to carve out a buffer zone in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, the regional governor said on Tuesday.

The Sumy region borders Russia’s Kursk region, and Moscow wants to end Kyiv’s cross-border incursions.

Kyiv says it has been responding to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022.

Yet Kremlin claimed Putin was “open to peace” despite its ongoing military attacks against Ukraine, saying the conflict “is so complicated” that the rapid progress Washington wants “is difficult” to achieve.

With clashes ongoing, the European Union was preparing a “plan B” on how to keep economic sanctions against Russia should the United States abandon its efforts to reach a Russia-Ukraine peace deal and end support for Ukraine, said the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas.

“We see signs that they are contemplating whether they should leave Ukraine and not try to get a deal with the Russians because it’s hard,” Kallas said about President Donald J. Trump’s administration.

SIGNING DEAL

Her remarks came despite Washington signing a deal with Kyiv on Wednesday to share future revenues from Ukraine’s minerals.

As part of the agreement, the U.S. would keep military aid flowing to the country and American investment in defense and reconstruction.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal added that a new reconstruction and investment fund would be split 50-50 between Kyiv and the U.S., giving each side equal voting rights.

Shmyhal stressed that Ukraine would retain “full control over its mineral resources, infrastructure, and natural resources. ”

Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said there would be no changes to the ownership of state-owned companies, including Ukrnafta, Ukraine’s largest oil producer, and nuclear energy producer Energoatom.

She said income and contributions to the fund would not be taxed in the U.S. or Ukraine “to make investments yield the greatest results.”

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