Russian Security Council chief Sergei Shoigu announced Thursday that Russian forces aim to fully liberate the Kursk Region from Ukrainian troops as part of an ongoing counterterrorism operation.

Speaking to the state-run news agency Tass, Shoigu highlighted the military’s strategic gains, particularly citing operations near a section of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod gas pipeline as pivotal to what he called a historic military maneuver.

“The Kursk Region will soon be mopped up of militants,” Shoigu stated, adding that this development would be a major milestone in the wider conflict.

Shoigu also emphasized that the evolving situation in what Russia calls the “special military operation zone” is influencing both global geopolitics and Russia’s internal affairs.

According to him, Russian forces now control over 99% of the Luhansk People’s Republic and about two-thirds of the Kherson, Donetsk, and Zaporozhye regions. “The situation changes in our favour every day,” Shoigu noted, asserting continued advances and the capture of new settlements along the frontlines.

Shoigu issued a stern warning regarding those involved in hostilities in the Kursk Region: “No one will escape punishment. Survivors will be treated as terrorists and held accountable accordingly.”

Reports from Russian defense sources, also cited by Tass, indicated heavy fighting near the town of Gornal in the Kursk Region, where Russian forces are pushing Ukrainian troops out of key areas.

Meanwhile, the Russian Investigative Committee reported on Wednesday that over 190 civilians have died in the Kursk Region since what Moscow calls Ukraine’s illegal invasion in August 2024. The agency also noted that 372 people were injured, including 17 minors.

Civilian infrastructure — including homes, schools, kindergartens, and vehicles — has been severely damaged or destroyed, with authorities still assessing the full extent of losses.

The escalation underscores the intensifying nature of the conflict, with both strategic military and humanitarian concerns dominating the discourse.