Russian President Vladimir Putin assigns former bodyguard to 'handle Kursk situation'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has enlisted a trusted aide and former personal bodyguard to oversee operations aimed at expelling Ukrainian forces from Russia, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

However, there’s been no official announcement of Alexey Dyumin’s role, he’s been commissioned to supervise the military and civilian response to the incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region.

In May, Putin appointed Dyumin as the secretary of Russia's State Council, a significant position within the body tasked with shaping "strategic goals and tasks of domestic and foreign policy."

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However, Dyumin does not hold an official role within the Defense Ministry or the Federal Security Service, which the president publicly tasked on Monday with expelling Ukrainian forces from Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn’t respond to a request to comment.

It was reported that following the meeting Putin had tasked Alexander Bortnikov, Director of Russia’s Federal Security Service ( FSB) to take over the “counter-terrorism operation” in Kursk, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Notably, Russia’s well-known blogger Rybar wrote that Dyumin’s appointment was “a sign that the security forces, on their own and without interference from Moscow, were unable to solve coordination problems.”

On Monday, Ukraine’s army chief told President Volodymyr Zelensky that his troops now control 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) of Russian territory and that offensive operations are continuing.

The Ukrainian incursion in Kursk marks the largest attack on Russian soil since Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a conflict that was expected to conclude within days but has now extended into its third year.

Putin vows to expel enemy from Kursk

The Russian president vowed to "expel the enemy" from Russian territory after it was reported that Ukrainian forces had taken control of numerous Russian villages and extensive areas of land just a week into Kyiv's unexpected cross-border incursion.

The Russian president said the invasion was an attempt by Ukraine to progress its negotiation position.

“But what kind of negotiations can we even talk about with people who indiscriminately strike at civilians, at civilian infrastructure, or try to create threats to nuclear power facilities. What can we even talk about with them?” Putin said.

(With inputs from agencies)