Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the western Kursk region for the first time since Russian forces ejected Ukrainian troops from the area last month.
Mr Putin rarely visits areas near the front line and his movements to border regions are often kept under wraps until after he has returned.
The Kremlin said that during the visit Mr Putin met volunteer organisations in the region and visited the Kursk-II nuclear power plant.
State television showed Mr Putin meeting volunteers and local officials in the region including acting governor Alexander Khinshtein.
Mr Putin was accompanied by Sergei Kiriyenko, Kremlin first deputy chief of staff.
In a meeting with governor Alexander Khinshtein, the Russian president called for demining teams to be expanded and pledged continued monthly payments of around $800 to residents forced to flee their homes.
"We will certainly support them," Mr Putin said, acknowledging in a separate meeting that the economic situation in the region was "difficult".
Russia said in late April that it had ejected Ukrainian troops from Kursk region, ending the biggest incursion into Russian territory since World War II.
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It came after Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the region in August 2024, seizing hundreds of square kilometres of territory in a major military setback for the Kremlin.
Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea to counter attack, but did not fully claim control of the region until April, almost nine months later.
At its height, Ukrainian forces claimed nearly 1,400 square kilometres of Kursk.
Ukraine had hoped land in the Kursk region would act as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with Russia, which has seized and occupied around a fifth of its territory.
Mr Putin said Ukraine was maintaining its attacks on the border territory.
"Every day the enemy attempts to cross the Russian state border," he said.
Mr Putin's visit to the Kursk region came amid continuing attacks between Ukraine and Russia.
A Russian missile attack on a Ukrainian military shooting range killed six personnel and wounded at least 10 more during training, Ukraine's national guard said.
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It added that the commander of the unit had been suspended following the incident, which occurred yesterday.
Russia's defence ministry had said that the missile attack on the training camp in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border killed up to 70 Ukrainian service members, including 20 instructors.
The Ukrainian national guard statement said an internal investigation was under way and the necessary information was shared with law enforcement agencies.
"The investigation will provide a legal assessment of the actions of all persons who made the relevant decisions," it said about the attack.
After previous deadly strikes on military training camps,Ukraine launched investigations into possible negligence.
During more than three years of Russia's full-scale invasion, Moscow's forces have inflicted casualties in attacks on Ukrainian military educational institutions and various formal outdoor gatherings.
Meanwhile Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defence systems downed three drones en route to Russia's capital.
"The Defence Ministry's air defence forces repelled an attack by three drones flying towards Moscow," he said on Telegram.
"Emergency services specialists are working at the site where the debris fell," he added.
Russia's defence ministry said its air defences shot down 159 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and at least six were shot down over the Moscow region, which has a population of over 20 million.
Moscow's Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports have also temporarily halted flight arrivals and departures, Russia's aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said via its channel in Telegram, without specifying the reasons.
The attacks come as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expected Russia to present a Ukraine ceasefire outline within days that will show if it is serious.
Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of "trying to buy time in order to continue its war and occupation".
