A Russian general claimed that “virtually all” of the Kursk region’s territory has been liberated from Ukrainian forces

As of March 18, Russian forces have reportedly liberated nearly the entire territory of the Kursk region.

This was announced by Lieutenant General Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat special forces unit and deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defense. His statement was shared by the Telegram channel Southern Front.

On March 17, reports indicated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) controlled only one remaining settlement in the Kursk region—the village of Hornal.

Alaudinov claimed that Ukrainian forces suffered heavy personnel losses during their expulsion from the region. He reshared the statement on his Telegram channel but refrained from further comments.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense provided an update on the battles in the Kursk border area. According to the ministry’s daily briefing, Russian forces inflicted significant losses on Ukrainian units in the past 24 hours, with over 270 Ukrainian troops reportedly killed.