Putin calls for border security zone, urges full liberation of Kursk region

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday proposed establishing a security zone along Russia's state border and demanded the complete expulsion of enemy forces from the Kursk region during a visit to a military command center overseeing operations in the area.

"Of course, we should think about the future and about creating a security zone along the state border," Putin said, adding that the immediate priority is to "achieve a full defeat of the enemy in the Kursk region and ensure its complete liberation".

The Russian president also noted that those enemy soldiers who were taken captive in the Kursk region "should be treated as terrorists in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation".

According to Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, who reported to Putin during the visit, Russian troops have reclaimed over 1,100 square kilometers of territory in the Kursk region, representing more than 86 percent of the area previously occupied by opposing forces.