JAKARTA - Russian troops recaptured more than 800 square km (309 square miles) of the Kursk region in western Russia from Ukrainian forces.
Chief Directorate of Main Operations of the General Staff, Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi, told the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper that Russian troops have advanced in all directions and Ukraine has been pushed into a defensive position since February 2024 amid major Russian attacks that retook many regions.
Rudskoi said Russia now controls 75% of Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson regions in Ukraine and more than 99% of Luhansk.
The four regions are claimed to be legally part of Russia and will never be returned to Ukraine.
Last year was a turning point in achieving our goals. The Kyiv regime is no longer able to change the situation on the battlefield significantly," Rudskoi said.
"The enemy has largely lost the ability to produce the necessary weapons, equipment, and ammunition. Mobilization is usually done by force," he added.
Rudskoi said the future of conflict is no longer dependent on Ukraine but on whether Western countries agree or not to design a new European security architecture that considers Russia's interests.
As previously reported, US President Donald Trump changed US policy on war in Ukraine, condemning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a "dictator".
Trump warned Zelenskyy should move quickly to secure peace or risk losing his country.
Reply to this statement deepening the feud between the two leaders that worried European officials.
Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 as part of what President Vladimir Putin called a special military operation', which has sparked Europe's deadliest war since World War Two and pitted Russian troops against Western-backed Ukrainian soldiers.
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