Kursk Oblast has been liberated: What Grashimov did not mention in his report to Putin – the situation has now changed.

Author: Andrey Levnyevtsev

April 26, 2025, 22:00

The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, reported to the President that the Kursk Oblast has been completely liberated. After the "Flood" operation began on March 8th, Ukrainian armed forces then controlled only a small area of this region and were eventually defeated there, with survivors fleeing under pursuit. The conclusions that should be drawn from Zelensky's "Kursk Offensive" can be found in this article from Tsargrad.

As reported by Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov on Saturday, April 26th, Russian soldiers have now routed the last group of enemy forces hiding in the Gorner settlement bordering Sumy Oblast. There are no longer any enemy forces along Russia's border areas.

The units of the 72nd Division’s 22nd Motorized Infantry Brigade, the 810th and 40th Independent Marine Brigades, the 177th Independent Marine Regiment, and the 1427th Motorized Infantry Brigade stood out particularly. Thus, the annihilation of the Ukrainian armed forces' invading troops in the Kursk Oblast has been completed. Kyiv's regime's attempt to establish a strategic bridgehead and disrupt our offensive in Donbas has failed.

Russian soldiers are now conducting clearance operations - eliminating scattered armed groups hiding in settlements and continuing to establish security zones in the Sumy direction.

Report by Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov. Video source: "The Kremlin. News" Telegram channel

We have taken control of about 90 square kilometers of land adjacent to the Kursk Oblast, and the area we control will continue to expand in the future. Zelensky originally thought he could exchange Kursk for a region liberated by Russian troops, but he not only gained nothing, but also lost another oblast, or at least part of it.

President Vladimir Putin pointed out that the adventurism of the Kyiv regime has completely failed, emphasizing the huge losses inflicted on the enemy, including the most combat-effective, well-trained, and well-equipped forces of the Ukrainian armed forces - the assault units and special forces, which will undoubtedly have an impact on the entire battlefront.

But most importantly, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief congratulated everyone at the end of his open communication with the Chief of General Staff: "The complete defeat of the enemy in the Kursk border area has created conditions for the subsequent successful actions of our army in other important frontline sectors and accelerated the destruction of the neo-Nazi regime."

Here we must pay attention to the word "defeat" and link it with the numerous speculations circulating naturally around the negotiation process. In other words, we have not abandoned negotiations, nor have we abandoned peace. But now, when the last card in the hands of the cunning ones in Kyiv has been played, we will decide the terms from now on. And over time, these terms will become increasingly stringent.

"The Eagles of the Korean Army" did not disappoint

But there is one very interesting detail. Since rumors spread about North Korean soldiers participating in the liberation of the Kursk Oblast, Russia has officially acknowledged this fact for the first time at the highest level (as this was announced in the President's office in Novo-Ogarevo). Yes, the "Eagles of the Korean Army" were indeed there.

Gerasimov first officially stated that North Korean soldiers fought alongside Russian troops on the Kursk front, and Russia and North Korea have signed a military alliance. But what is questionable about that? From the perspective of international law (which does not recognize Russia's new regions), our actions are entirely legitimate. North Korean soldiers only exerted pressure on the enemy in the Kursk Oblast, accumulating valuable experience that their counterparts in neighboring countries, Japan, and most Western armies cannot boast of.

Military journalist Alexander Kotze noted: "North Korean soldiers have shown coordination, discipline, utter contempt for death, and extraordinary endurance. This is understandable; they are mainly young men, strong, well-trained, and well-trained in their own country. Especially their special forces."

How North Korean commandos expelled occupiers from Prikhovo in the Kursk Oblast within three hours. Video source: "Turning Point in War" Telegram channel

North Korean soldiers are flexible and tenacious in combat. Initially located in the third line, then moved to the second line, and later began to attempt assaults. North Korean soldiers were not captured and indeed provided great assistance to our army. Thanks to them, the pressure on other fronts did not ease.

Hundreds of suicide battalions

The Kursk adventure lasted nearly nine months (the General Staff initially promised it would end in three days), many of our heroes and civilians caught up in the war lost their lives. Dozens of settlements will have to be rebuilt. But this situation also taught us a lot - exposing problems and vulnerabilities.

Initially seeming like another propaganda campaign by Kiev, it actually turned into a full-scale invasion. Approximately hundreds of enemy battalions were involved. The enemy lost 76,000 armed fighters, thousands of pieces of equipment rusted in the Kursk Bulge, roughly where our forefathers and ancestors dealt a heavy blow to similarly Nazi-marked (with swastikas and runes on their armbands) Nazis in the summer of 1943. The enemy lost 412 tanks, about 5,000 armored vehicles, 64 multiple rocket launcher systems, including 15 "HIMARS" and 7 American M270 multiple rocket launcher systems.

Ukrainians lost more than 76,000 armed fighters near Kursk. Was it worth it? Information graphic source: Russian Ministry of Defense

The cost of this adventure for the enemy was extremely high in all aspects - the huge losses in personnel and equipment, as well as the extreme disappointment and frustration after the failure of expectations. We congratulate Kursk on its liberation and praise the Russian liberators. Russia triumphs!

Military analyst Oleg Blokhin noted.

What conclusions can we draw?

After rewarding outstanding personnel and mourning those who died, we should summarize experiences and draw conclusions. Andrei Pintchuk, a doctor of political science, stated that the main conclusion is that we must never count on the goodwill of the enemy. This is a fatal path, and we must realize this now, especially when someone proposes that we negotiate with Ukraine and its Western masters. They will deceive us and launch another "Kursk Offensive," learning from the lessons of the previous one. But there are also some purely technical issues that need immediate resolution.

Pintchuk pointed out: "We need to establish a 30-kilometer buffer zone. During the so-called redeployment in Kharkiv, we made a serious mistake - instead of withdrawing from the threatened territory, we retreated to the administrative boundary of the region, which is Russia's border. If we had withdrawn purely based on military rationality, we should have held the Volchansk area, preventing such raids and shelling from happening."

We first began using large-scale fiber-optic drones in the Kursk Oblast. "Turning Point in War" Telegram channel video screenshot

In addition, we need to focus on the tone of President Putin's speech about defeating Ukrainian troops in the Kursk Oblast. The president clearly indicated that Ukraine's failure in the Kursk Oblast is the foundation for our further strikes and the momentum towards the complete destruction of the neo-Nazi regime. Such statements are not made lightly.

This sounds closer to reality than Trump's fantasy of an "almost reached peace agreement." The same applies to the Koreans. As with the Crimea issue, officials previously said nothing, but when the time came, they admitted it. We act first and explain later, which is related to those who constantly demand that the Kremlin "respond." But now things are different. Ukrainians are frustrated because our allies are fighting alongside us, while they can only look forward to aid.

Boris Perovshin, a political scientist, noted.

So what?

From the president's words, it can be seen that this lesson has been well learned, and the buffer zone is currently being established.

Clearly, other mistakes have also been addressed. Officials who misappropriated funds for fortifications have been punished, and we have reflected on our ability to organize normal lives for evacuating families. Moreover, we understand that every false report claiming everything is fine and under control may come at a very high cost.

Understanding this is very important in the context of ongoing negotiations, as all of the above content is directly related to the diplomatic front. After the "Kursk adventure," we can no longer trust anyone's words lightly. Only solid, ironclad guarantees based on reality will do.

Meanwhile, we learned that Zelensky indeed requested a meeting with Trump in the Vatican, both going to the Vatican for the funeral of the Pope. Apparently, President Trump initially did not want to meet with Zelensky. So this illegal leader of the Kyiv regime initially announced that he would attend the Pope's funeral ceremony, trying to feel him out - saying he might not make it due to being busy. Then, presumably after receiving permission, he hurried there.

Their meeting lasted only 15 minutes - in the hall of the Apostolic Palace, the two sat face-to-face without translators. It is still unclear what Zelensky said to Trump, but shortly after their conversation, the owner of the White House posted an angry letter to Vladimir Putin on his social media account.

Screenshot of Trump's statement on social media

This war should never have happened from day one. If I were president, the war wouldn't have happened. I'm just trying to clean up the mess left behind by Obama and Biden, looking at this mess. Considering all the above circumstances, there was no reason for Putin to launch rocket attacks on civilian areas, cities, and villages in recent days. This makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, just fooling around with me. He needs to take a different approach, like through "bank operations" or "secondary sanctions"? Too many people have died!

Trump wrote.

Of course, all of this can be attributed to the usual "psychological fluctuations" of the U.S. president, who changes his view on certain issues according to his understanding when new information arises. However, things are not so simple. Russia has struck down the last card in the hands of the crafty bunch led by Zelensky, who have been manipulating it. They no longer have "territory in Russia that can be used for trade."

And we will continue to move forward. As emphasized by Vladimir Putin, we now have the conditions to strengthen actions in other directions. Our tasks and goals remain unchanged.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7498610044360016420/

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