Russian forces are working to establish a buffer zone along the country’s border with Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, following his return from the Kursk region in southern Russia.

The decision to establish the zone had been taken, Putin said by video link during a government meeting. He did not stipulate where the buffer zone would lie or how large it would be.

“Our forces are currently engaged in solving this task, hostile firing points are being actively suppressed, and the work is ongoing,” he said.

Putin also issued instructions for a comprehensive reconstruction programme to be worked out for southern Russian regions affected by the war, including Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk. The regions have been damaged by Ukrainian drones and artillery fire.

Putin stated previously that the Kursk region had been cleared of Ukrainian troops following their incursion in August. He visited the region earlier this week.

He accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of lying when he said Ukrainian forces were still holding parts of Kursk and Belgorod.

Waves of Ukrainian drones disrupt air traffic in Moscow

Earlier, Russian authorities said that Ukraine had bombarded Moscow airspace with hundreds of combat drones since Tuesday evening, though 485 were intercepted.

The unmanned aircraft were keeping the capital and its surrounding area on edge. Russia’s Defence Ministry said an especially high number of drones was shot down in the Moscow region but also in the areas to its south.

The military figures could not be independently verified but suggest almost continuous Ukrainian attacks. Despite the large number of deployed drones, the reported damage on the ground was minimal.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported throughout the afternoon that drones heading towards the capital had been shot down.

Flights at Moscow’s airports were repeatedly suspended overnight, according to Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya. Temporary take-off and landing restrictions have become routine amid ongoing drone threats.

About three dozen flights were delayed, the authority said. In the afternoon Rosaviatsiya again imposed restrictions on several regional airports.

In the Russian region of Bryansk, one person was killed and another injured in a Ukrainian drone attack, according to Governor Alexander Bogomaz. Andrei Klychkov, governor of the Oryol region south of Moscow, wrote on Telegram about “massive drone attacks.” Mobile internet was reportedly shut down.

One person killed in Russian attack in Kherson region

Meanwhile, Russian forces launched their own wave of attacks on Ukraine. An 85-year-old woman was killed in the Kherson region during Russian shelling, according to military Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.

The Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia deployed an Iskander-M missile and a total of 128 drones and decoys overnight. Of those, 112 drones were intercepted. The regions of Dnipro, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv were among those targeted.

Ukraine has been fending off Russia’s full-scale invasion for over three years, with support from Western allies. As part of its defence strategy, it strikes military and infrastructure targets inside Russia.

However, the scale of Ukrainian operations remains limited compared to the widespread destruction inflicted by Russia’s war.