What’s New
An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has implied that Moscow cannot push Ukraine out of Kursk by the end of the year, despite Putin previously setting a deadline to kick them out by October.
Russia’s Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, said that all the tasks set by the country’s leadership for the military in 2024 have been completed, according to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. He was speaking during a briefing for the military. As Ukrainian forces remain in Kursk, it is possible that driving them out was not a task for Russian forces to complete by the year’s end.
Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for comment via email outside of business hours.
Grigory Sysoyev/Associated Press
Why It Matters
The implications of Gerasimov’s statement are significant as it brings into question what Russia’s priorities are now in its nearly three-year long full-scale war with Ukraine. As Putin’s previous statements made it seem as if reclaiming Kursk was high on Moscow’s agenda, it is unclear what Russia’s advances in the region mean in terms of long-term goals.
What To Know
Gerasimov also said that the reason for Kyiv’s incursion into Kursk in August was “an information effect for Western sponsors” and that Ukrainian advances had been halted. He added that the “destruction and extrication of armed formations and foreign mercenaries from occupied population centers” is currently continuing.
Following Ukraine’s push into Kursk, Putin said that the “main task, of course, is for the defense ministry to squeeze out, to knock out the enemy from our territories,” according to Reuters. He had set a deadline for the removal of Ukrainian forces from Russian territory of October 1, and since that date has passed fighting in the region has intensified, with more than 11,000 North Korean troops being deployed to the front lines.
Putin also stressed the urgency of driving Ukrainian forces from Kursk in November, as he emphasized the importance of imminently “cleansing” the territory of Kyiv’s troops, according to RBC-Russia.
Russian forces have so far recaptured 40 percent of the territory Ukrainian troops seized in Kursk.
This has come at a high cost, with Moscow’s forces suffering at least 700,000 casualties and equipment losses reaching a two-year high in November. Recent satellite images published by the U.K. Ministry of Defence also highlight Russian armored vehicle losses, showing troops utilizing outdated Soviet-era equipment.
What People Are Saying
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko, wrote: “Based on the statement by the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, that Russia successfully achieved all its military objectives in 2024, its goals for the past year must have been:
—allowing a foreign military to invade its territory and occupy it for the first time since World War II
—failing to push Ukraine out of the Kursk region after months of fighting and instead involve the North Korean army in human wave attacks
—losing Syria in about just 10 days after a decade of direct military intervention
—losing several major ammunition depots, air bases, and oil storage facilities to Ukrainian missile and drone strikes
—capturing record-high 4,500 km² of Ukrainian territory (comparable to the size of Los Angeles County) through meat-grinder assaults in the third year of the war
—staging a bombastic nuclear intimidation escapade in the media that ended up being comically ignored by Western leaders
—getting an overheated economy due to colossal military spending with high risks of stagflation
—entering the fourth year of the Kyiv-in-three-days special operation with 600,000 casualties and the prospects of freezing the war.
If so, without a doubt, it’s a triumphal success of the world’s second-largest military against Ukraine.”
Joni Askola, a pro-Ukraine Finnish Ph.D. candidate, wrote: “Gerasimov’s claim that russia has met all its goals for 2024 is both absurd and pathetic—truly the most russian statement imaginable. Kursk was probably part of Gerasimov’s plan too. Does anyone in russia even believe it?”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether the Russian forces are able to push Ukrainian forces out of Kursk prior to the end of the year, or if Kyiv’s troops can make advancements in the region.
