After nine grueling months of fierce combat, Ukrainian forces have been expelled from Gornal—their last stronghold in Russia’s Kursk region—marking a major defeat for Kiev’s ambitions on Russian soil.
In a decisive moment Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin officially confirmed the full liberation of Kursk after receiving a battlefield report from Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. According to Gerasimov, Ukraine’s attempt to destabilize Russian operations in Donbass through a Kursk incursion has ended in catastrophic failure.
Putin delivered a sweeping address, praising Russian troops for their victory and making it clear that Ukraine’s costly gamble had been shattered.
Crushing Defeat for Ukraine
The surprise Ukrainian offensive into the Kursk region may have grabbed headlines, but according to Russian military reports, it came at a staggering price: over 75,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed or wounded, and thousands of tanks, armored vehicles, air defense systems, and artillery pieces lost.
Today, mop-up operations continue as Russian forces sweep the area for Ukrainian holdouts, while efforts to create a larger security buffer in Ukraine’s bordering Sumy region press forward. Russia now controls four settlements and more than 90 square kilometers of new territory.
Putin’s Message: No Turning Back
In his televised remarks, Putin congratulated the Russian Armed Forces, including elite units such as the 76th Airborne Division, the 116th Division, the “Akhmat” special forces regiment, and the marines, for their key roles in the operation.
“The complete defeat of the enemy in the Kursk border area creates the conditions for further successful actions on other critical frontlines,” Putin stated. He emphasized that this victory “brings us closer to the full defeat of the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev.”
The liberation of Kursk is being hailed as a turning point, setting the stage for Russia to intensify its campaigns in Donbass and beyond.
The Bigger Picture
For Kiev, the loss of Kursk is both a strategic and symbolic blow, underscoring the growing difficulty of sustaining operations across an increasingly stretched front. Despite international media attention and political support from Western capitals, Ukraine’s ground situation appears increasingly dire.
Meanwhile, Moscow is using its battlefield momentum to bolster its narrative that the war is not merely about territorial control, but about the “denazification” and “demilitarization” of Ukraine—terms Putin continues to invoke in framing Russia’s broader military and political objectives.
As operations in Sumy and Donbass accelerate, the world watches to see whether Ukraine can regroup—or whether the fall of Kursk signals the beginning of a broader collapse in its defensive lines.
