Putin Visits Kursk for First Time Since Russia Drove Out Ukrainian Forces

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia visited the Kursk region in the west of the country for the first time since Moscow’s troops drove Ukrainian forces out of most of the territory they had seized there in a surprise cross-border offensive.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that had Mr. Putin visited Kursk’s nuclear power plant a day earlier and met with volunteers helping residents affected by the conflict. Russian state news media released images of the visit in what appeared to be an attempt to project a return to normality, even as fighting still raged in one corner of the region.

Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into Kursk in August and quickly seized some 500 square miles of Russian territory. But Ukraine’s push slowed after a few weeks and its troops began to lose ground as Russian forces deployed there in greater numbers. With the help of North Korean troops, Russian forces managed to chip away at Ukrainian-occupied territory before launching a decisive counterattack in March that reclaimed most of Kursk.