[Regnum] Russian units have stopped the advance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Kursk region, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov said on December 18.
"The enemy's advance has been stopped. Air strikes and artillery fire have thwarted attempts by mobile groups of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and foreign mercenaries to break through deep into Russian territory," he said at a briefing for military attachés of foreign countries.
According to Gerasimov, Russian military personnel continue to destroy and force out Ukrainian fighters and foreign mercenaries from some of the settlements they have occupied.
On December 17, Regnum news agency reported that in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 260 soldiers in the Kursk direction. The enemy also lost three combat armored vehicles and a RAK-SA-12 MLRS launcher. In total, since the beginning of hostilities in the Kursk region, Ukrainian units have lost more than 41.6 thousand soldiers.
Earlier, the British magazine The Economist wrote that the situation of the Ukrainian military after the invasion of the Kursk region is getting worse. As one of the officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces noted, the Russian forces have a huge advantage both in personnel and in weapons and equipment.
The Kiev regime's Kursk adventure is a crime against the people of Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on December 16. The head of state added that throwing the enemy out of the Kursk region is the sacred duty of the Russian Armed Forces, and the task of the special services is to find and punish the criminals.