Back in August 2024, Ukrainian troops launched a surprise attack on largely unguarded border areas between the Sumy region and Russia’s Kursk oblast, proceeding to occupy as much as 500 square kilometers of enemy territory.
While the sliver of conquered territory was meaningless in terms of actually winning the war, it is also true that it was a ‘shot in the arm’ boosting the Kiev regime’s enthusiasm and one of the greatest PR victories of the whole war so far, energizing the Western allies for a while.
But it came at a steep cost: Russian sources estimate Volodymyr Zelensky lost over 70,000 troops in Kursk region alone, as well as almost 6,000 Western-supplied pieces of equipment, between tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery systems, multiple rocket launchers, command and control vehicles… the list goes on.
Those lost troops and equipment were sorely missed in other parts of the long frontline, and we have heard dozens of Ukrainian servicemen and officers decry the Kursk ‘adventure’ as costing them large swaths of territory in the crucial Donetsk region.
Now, nine months later, Kiev is holding to the very last settlement it still holds in Kursk, as Russian troops retake a monastery that was one of the last remaining Ukrainian Kursk strongholds after a fierce 10-day battle.
The Telegraph reported:
“Vladimir Putin’s forces are in control of the St Nicholas Belogorsky Monastery in the border village of Gornal, around a mile from Ukraine, state media reported.
It had been used as a base for as many as 300 Ukrainian soldiers trying to organize the defense of captured Russian territory.”
Russian servicemen have liberated the St. Nicholas Belogorsky Monastery in the village of Gornal in the Kursk Region, security forces told TASS:https://t.co/thDw96Dofr pic.twitter.com/e3ryuMxVeV
— TASS (@tassagency_en) April 22, 2025
The Russian conquest of the stronghold brings Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk region almost to an end after almost nine months of courageous – but some argue ill-advised – resistance.
“Deep State, a pro-Ukrainian war blog that tracks battlefield movements, said Ukraine holds just 8.1 square miles, down from over 500 at the height of its sudden raid last August.”
Zelensky hoped the occupied territory would become a crucial bargaining chip in peace talks.
Watch: Russian FAB-3000 glide bomb strikes Ukrainian defensive position in the Monastery
Kursk direction, Gornal
Ukrainian formations took advantage of the ceasefire introduced on Easter to consolidate their position on the monastery grounds. The position was destroyed by our aviation using FAB-3000
Raccoon from Kherson pic.twitter.com/9OO2GjNVGt
— Bernadette (@BDooher) April 22, 2025
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The post KURSK CLEANUP: Red Army Retakes St. Nicholas Belogorsky Monastery in Gornal, One of the Last Ukrainian Bastions on Russian Territory appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.