Russia Offering Tours of ‘Sites of Military Glory’ in Donetsk and Kursk

Kursk region Governor Alexander Khinshtein said regional officials were working with the military to identify potential tourist routes through areas linked to combat operations, according to The Moscow Times. The routes could include defensive structures and underground facilities used by Russian military personnel during fighting in the region.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “The events we have tragically lived through are also a crucial component of patriotic tourism. My colleagues in the Armed Forces and I are already considering which underground structures and defensive sites to include in future tourist routes and where to establish museum spaces,” Khinshtein said. He added that the tours could include facilities where North Korean military personnel had been stationed. “I am certain that visiting and seeing the underground command posts used to direct troops – or the command post where our comrades-in-arms from the Korean People’s Army were stationed – will be extremely interesting.” Khinshtein said authorities were already working on the project without waiting for the end of what Moscow calls its “special military operation.” Why Kursk? On Aug. 6, 2024, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) launched a surprise offensive into Russia’s Kursk region, breaking through Russian defenses and seizing territory inside Russia. At its peak, a senior Ukrainian military source said Kyiv controlled around 1,376 square kilometers of Russian territory. Other Topics of Interest Russia Employs 25,000 North Koreans in Drone Production The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT) has found that up to 25,000 North Koreans are working at several facilities assembling Shahed and Geran drones. The operation was the largest foreign incursion into internationally recognized Russian territory since World War II. Kyiv said one of its objectives was to force Russia to redirect troops and equipment to Kursk and relieve pressure on Ukrainian forces elsewhere. Early in the operation, military analysts said the incursion forced Moscow to reconsider how much manpower and equipment it needed to defend its border with northeastern Ukraine. Kyiv Post reported Russia gradually retook much of the territory over the following months. A major counteroffensive in March 2025 forced Ukrainian troops from most of their remaining positions. On March 16, Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed its withdrawal from Sudzha, the largest Russian town Kyiv had controlled. Moscow announced in late April that it had expelled Ukrainian forces from the region, although Kyiv disputed claims that Ukrainian operations along the border had completely ended. North Korean troops played a significant role in the Russian counteroffensive. Around 12,000 North Korean soldiers were initially deployed to the Kursk region, according to Western and Ukrainian assessments, with additional troops later sent as reinforcements. Kyiv Post reported in January that the North Korean contingent was suffering heavy casualties in the fighting. Russia and North Korea publicly acknowledged the deployment in April 2025 after months of avoiding official confirmation. Pyongyang said its troops had helped Russian forces regain control of the Kursk region. Kyiv Post reported The overall military impact of Ukraine’s Kursk operation remains debated. Kyiv argued that the incursion forced Russia to commit substantial manpower and equipment to its own territory and helped reduce the threat to neighboring Sumy region. The Institute for the Study of War later assessed that the operation had successfully pinned Russian combat power, including elite airborne and naval infantry units, although its longer-term impact remained unclear. Kyiv Post reported Other analysts argued that deploying experienced Ukrainian formations to Kursk put additional pressure on Kyiv’s defenses elsewhere while Russian forces continued advancing in eastern Ukraine. The proposed tourism project is also being developed while the Kursk region remains exposed to Ukrainian drone and artillery attacks. According to The Moscow Times, regional operational headquarters continue to report attacks on the region on an almost daily basis. The Moscow Times Russian “military tourism” The Kursk proposal is not Russia’s first attempt to develop tourism around sites affected by its war against Ukraine. At the end of 2025, Russian occupation authorities announced plans to develop tourist routes through occupied parts of the Donetsk region, including locations described as “sites of military glory.” The plans included around 1 billion rubles in proposed spending on hotels and tourism infrastructure, according to The Times. Potential destinations included Mariupol and Bakhmut, two cities devastated during some of the heaviest fighting of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Mariupol was largely destroyed during Russia’s siege and capture of the city in 2022. Bakhmut was similarly devastated during months of fighting before Russian forces captured it in 2023. Kyiv Post has previously documented both the scale of destruction in Bakhmut and Russia’s later efforts to use the ruined city for wartime commemorations. Kyiv Post reported The tourism proposals have been developed despite continuing infrastructure problems across Russian-occupied Donetsk region. Kyiv Post has reported severe water shortages across occupied territories caused by a combination of war damage, infrastructure failures and occupation-era mismanagement. Russia has also increasingly incorporated sites connected to the invasion into memorial projects across occupied Ukraine. A 2025 Kyiv Post investigation documented how Moscow has altered monuments and public spaces in occupied areas to integrate Russia’s current war into a broader state narrative of military history. The Kursk project remains at the planning stage. Khinshtein said regional officials and the military were still deciding which underground command posts, defensive positions and other wartime facilities could eventually be incorporated into tourist routes and museum spaces. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. 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