Putin at the battlefield?; "They are idiots" PHOTO/VIDEO

As the TASS agency announced, "this is the first visit of the head of state here since the complete liberation of the region from the Ukrainian armed forces - the end of the operation was announced on April 26".

Putin previously visited the region in March, shortly after the reportedly successful Operation Potok.

The agency points out that his visit was an incentive for Russian fighters to break into the rear of the Ukrainian armed forces in the Kursk region.

Representatives of the People's Front, Kursk Oblast volunteers, the All-Russian Student Rescue Corps and other organizations met with Putin, reports RIA Novosti.

"They are idiots"

During his stay in the region, Putin visited the city of Kurchatov, where he visited the construction site of the Kursk-2 nuclear power plant and held a meeting with mayors of municipalities.

He also met with the acting governor of the Kursk region, Alexander Khinshtein, and volunteers who have been providing aid to the population following what was said to be Ukrainian attacks on the border areas.

Speaking in front of the crowd, Putin praised the courage of the defenders of the city of Kurchatov and pointed out that "no one backed down, everyone worked", evaluating their action as an example of patriotism.

He thanked the volunteers from different parts of Russia for helping the population of the region affected by the war.

Putin said Ukrainian forces were trying to move closer to the Russian border and accused them of destroying World War II monuments.

"That gives us every reason to say that these people are driven by the ideology of neo-Nazism," he said and added ironically that "even in a competition of idiots, they would take second place. Why? Because they are idiots."

The President of Russia ordered the continuation of aid payments of 710 euros for the residents of the Kursk region who left their homes, until they return to their places.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, during the conflict in the border areas of the region, the Ukrainian army lost more than 75,000 people.

Putin once again reiterated the position that an individual's internal motivation and dedication are the key to success in the fight: "The main key to success is that a person wants to do what the Motherland expects from him".

Earlier in April, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov informed Putin that the Kursk region was "liberated" from Ukrainian forces, which the president assessed as the basis for the further collapse of the "Kyiv regime" and the advance of Russian forces on other parts of the battlefield.