Russian Forces Capture Key Monastery in Final Ukrainian Stronghold in Kursk Region

Russian forces have regained control of a monastery in the last village of the southwestern Kursk region that was still under Ukrainian occupation, according to state media reports on Tuesday that cited unnamed security officials.

«Our troops have freed the St. Nicholas Belogorsky Monastery in Gornal during the course of combat,» one source told the state-run TASS news agency.

The 17th-century monastery is situated on the northeastern border of Gornal, approximately 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) northeast of the Ukrainian city of Sumy. The security source indicated that the mission to reclaim the monastery took «more than a week.»

«The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ resistance has been dismantled,» the source was quoted as saying, alleging that Ukrainian forces had utilized the monastery as a «military installation.»

The Moscow Times has not been able to confirm the report independently, and as of Tuesday morning, Russia’s Defense Ministry had not provided any comments regarding the monastery’s recapture.

On Saturday, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that its troops had taken back Oleshnya, the second-to-last village in the Kursk region still held by Ukrainian forces.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have been gradually diminishing Ukraine’s foothold in parts of the Kursk region, following the earlier surprise offensive launched by Ukrainian troops—marking the largest ground operation against Russia since World War II.

According to the battlefield tracking organization DeepState, the Ukrainian military still maintains control over nearly 31 square kilometers (20 square miles) of territory in the Kursk region as of early Tuesday, after initially seizing 1,376 square kilometers (531 square miles) during the surprise offensive.

Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov informed President Vladimir Putin on Saturday that 99.5% of the Kursk region had been «liberated,» with Russian forces continuing their counteroffensive efforts to clear the area of Ukrainian troops.

Konstantin Remchukov, editor of the Nezavisimaya Gazeta, mentioned on Sunday that Putin is «obviously» aiming for the complete liberation of the Kursk region before considering a ceasefire brokered by the U.S., in order to avoid negotiations over territorial exchanges.

«Once the final 0.5% is liberated, then the troops can halt wherever this news finds them,» commented Remchukov, who is widely believed to have connections within the Russian government.