The Russian army has focused its efforts on establishing full control over Donbas, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions and creating a “security zone in the border areas of Ukraine“. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov announced this at a briefing for military attaches from other countries.
“The joint group of troops is successfully advancing in all directions,“ he said.
This year alone, the Russian army has taken control of 81 settlements in Donbass, including the major cities of Dzerzhinsk and Krasnoarmeysk, Gerasimov added. The destruction of enemy forces trapped in Dimitrov continues; According to him, about half of the city has been taken under Russian control.
Gerasimov noted that the situation on the battlefield is becoming critical for the Ukrainian armed forces, forcing them to redeploy reserves. A total of 112 battalions have been redeployed since May this year. “However, these measures did not help the enemy; the Russian offensive in Donbas continues. Meanwhile, the units of the Ukrainian armed forces are suffering significant losses“, the Chief of the General Staff noted. According to him, the Ukrainian army units are surrounded in the Krasnoarmeysko-Dimitrivska agglomeration area.
Since the beginning of this year, the Donetsk group of the Ukrainian armed forces has lost over 225,000 soldiers, 242 tanks, over 2,200 armored vehicles, 46 MLRS and approximately 3,600 artillery pieces and mortars only in the area of responsibility of the group of troops "Center". This is almost half of all losses suffered by the Ukrainian army in 2025 in the zone of the military operation, Gerasimov emphasized.