“There is no threat of surrounding our forces,” the Ukrainian army said, commenting on the bittersweet, with Kiev, however, referring to one.
Earlier, Russia had announced that it had fully regained the border region, while in the Vatican a peculiar mini -summit on the end of the war in Ukraine was evolving.
The head of the Russian Army General Staff Valerie Gerasimov announced to Vladimir Putin that “today the last community in the Kursk region, the village of Gornal, was released from Ukrainian units” during a meeting through a video.
“The adventure of the Kiev regime has completely failed,” Putin replied immediately. “The full departure of the enemy (…) creates the conditions for further successful actions of our forces in other important zones of the front,” the Russian president added.
According to the Kremlin leader, the complete recovery of Kursk and the “huge losses” suffered by the Ukrainians “will surely affect the whole contact line”.
Kiev hastened to describe this announcement as “false” and “propaganda”. Specifically, the Ukrainian army spoke of “false” information, assuring that the battles are “continuing” in the area. “The statements of enemy leaders about the” defeat “of Ukrainian forces are nothing more than propaganda maneuvering,” he said in a statement.
The importance of Kursk for the end of war
The Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region in August 2024, occupying some pockets.
Vladimir Putin had in the past implied that he was not ready to negotiate for the end of the war, which erupted with the invasion of his forces in Ukraine in February 2022, as long as the Ukrainian forces were not fully expelled.
For several weeks, Ukrainian troops have been receding from this area of the front, with the Russian army recovering the area a little bit. Since August 2024, they had initially occupied hundreds of square kilometers, before the pocket under their control, decreased to a small extent in recent days.
The North Korean … factor
In addition, the leader of the Russian Army General Staff Valeri Gerasimov greeted in his speech the “heroism” of the North Korean Fighters, who were mobilized for the recovery of the Kursk Region, in the first official confirmation of Moscow for “participation”.
“The soldiers and officers of the North Korean army, who fought alongside the Russian soldiers, showed great professionalism, mental strength, courage and heroism to repel the Ukrainian invasion,” he said, expressing satisfaction with the “significant help”.
For several months, Kiev, South Koreans and Westerners have been talking about the participation of many thousands of North Korean soldiers in the battles, which Moscow and Pyongyang refused to admit.
Russia and North Korea signed a strategic partnership agreement in June 2024, which provides for “mutual” military assistance in the event of an attack on one of the two countries.
