Moscow, Russia - 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 clarify 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.

Kyiv rejected Putin's plans and criticized such statements as further proof that Russia has no interest in peace.

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"These new aggressive claims clearly reject peace efforts and show that Putin has been and remains the only reason the killing continues," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.

Putin also issued instructions for a comprehensive reconstruction program 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.

The Russian leader previously claimed that the Kursk region had been cleared of Ukrainian troops following their incursion in August. He visited the region earlier this week and accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of lying over a continued Ukrainian presence.

Despite publicly expressing a willingness to negotiate, Moscow has largely rebuffed US-led attempts to secure a ceasefire in the war, with President Donald Trump's administration growing increasingly frustrated.

Russia and Ukraine traded drone attacks and shelling overnight on Friday.