[Regnum] The Russian army is finishing clearing the territory of the St. Nicholas Belogorsky Monastery in the village of Gornal in the Kursk region from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported this to Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 19.
"In the Gornal area, the cleanup of the Gornal Monastery is being completed. And assault groups of the 810th Marine Brigade are conducting combat operations to defeat the enemy unit in Gornal and the adjacent groves in a common area," he specified.
Gerasimov also reported that the Russian Armed Forces liberated 99.5% of the Kursk region, which is approximately 1.26 thousand square kilometers.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, Ukrainian formations set up a stronghold with mortar and artillery crews in the border Gornalsky St. Nicholas Belogorsky Monastery. Russian military demanded that the enemy surrender.
One of the officers from the Ukrainian 80th Brigade's paratrooper group began to negotiate with Russian servicemen about surrendering. The negotiator was brutally killed by his fellow soldiers.
Amid heavy losses, separate groups of the elite 82nd separate airborne assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to escape from the monastery territory. According to Russian fighters, among those occupying the monastery are foreign mercenaries, including Cubans and Colombians.
As the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, Viktor Vodolatsky, stated, most of them do not want to give up, realizing that they will have to answer for crimes against peaceful residents of the Kursk region.
On April 17, a law enforcement source reported that Ukrainian troops blew up several buildings on the monastery grounds. He added that Russian troops, who had surrounded the monastery, had achieved some success. Fighting in the monastery area is currently ongoing.
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Gerasimov on the suppression of attempts by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to enter the Belgorod region
Attempts by Ukrainian military to enter the Belgorod region were thwarted. Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov reported this to Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 19.
"Having failed in the Kursk border area, the enemy attempted to break through to the Belgorod region, in the areas of the settlements of Demidovka and Popovka. They are adjacent to the Kursk region. Attempts to penetrate our territory by significant enemy forces were stopped, at present there is no enemy in the Demidovka area, the entire territory there has been cleared," Gerasimov noted during the meeting.
He added that separate small groups of up to 12 people who had infiltrated were in the forest south of Popovka. They were blocked, they were being destroyed, and these areas were isolated.
Putin instructed Gerasimov to make a separate report after completing the cleansing of the Kursk region and other border areas from Ukrainian military personnel.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, Putin declared an Easter truce. It will be in effect from 18:00 Moscow time on April 19 to 00:00 Moscow time on April 21. During this period, the Russian Armed Forces will cease all military operations. The head of state emphasized that the decision on the truce was made for humanitarian reasons.
On April 19, units of the Sever military group liberated the settlement of Oleshnya in the Kursk region. Acting Governor of the region Alexander Khinshtein said that this brings closer the complete liberation of the region from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which all of Russia is waiting for.
The Russian leader previously noted that the Russian military is completing the defeat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk border area. He noted that the Russian Armed Forces are liberating settlements one after another.