MOSCOW

The Kremlin announced Saturday that Russian forces have completely ousted Ukrainian troops from Russia’s Kursk region.

The Kremlin press service released a video showing Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov briefing President Vladimir Putin on the completion of the military operation.

Gerasimov said that "the last settlement in the territory of the Kursk region, the village of Gornal, has been liberated from Ukrainian units."

He added that Ukraine's attempt to advance fell short of achieving its objectives -- forcing Russia to withdraw forces from other fronts and securing territory to leverage in future negotiations.

"The Kyiv regime's plans to create a so-called strategic foothold and disrupt our offensive in Donbas have failed," he stated.

At the initial stage of the operation, the Russian army halted the offensive, and forced the Ukrainian troops to go on the defensive, he also said.

According to Gerasimov, the most active phase of the operation began on March 6 as Russia launched an offensive of the Kursk group simultaneously in all directions while a sabotage group traveled through a gas transmission system and appeared in the core of Ukraine's defense.

 A chaotic withdrawal of Ukrainian units began, and within five days, the area of the occupation decreased by two and a half times. In the course of further actions, the few Ukrainian elite units were defeated and driven out of the territory of the Kursk region," he claimed.  

North Korea's participation

Gerasimov also thanked North Korean soldiers who, he said, "fought shoulder to shoulder" with Russian servicemen to liberate the Kursk region from Ukrainian troops.

"I would like to mention separately the participation in the liberation of the border areas of the Kursk region of the military personnel of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), who, in accordance with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement between our countries, provided significant assistance in defeating the entrenched armed group of Ukraine," he said.

He explained that North Korean forces fought only on Russian territory under a bilateral agreement that grants Russia the right to engage North Korean military forces to protect its land.

"Soldiers and officers of the Korean People's Army, carrying out combat missions shoulder to shoulder with Russian servicemen, showed high professionalism during the repulse of the Ukrainian invasion, showed perseverance, courage and heroism in battle," he stressed.

In February 2022, Russia began its "special military operation," in Ukraine. Kyiv launched its incursion into the Kursk region last August.

Currently, measures are being taken in the liberated areas of the Kursk region to identify retreating Ukrainian servicemen, trying to hide on Russian territory, Gerasimov said.

Forest areas, basements, and abandoned buildings are being checked, 110 teams consisting of over 1,000 personnel are clearing the territory of the Kursk region of mines and explosive objects, and as of now 19 settlements have been fully checked and cleared, he concluded.