Ukraine’s General Staff reported the information.“August 6 is a significant date in the military history of our country. On this day in 2024, the Ukrainian Defense Forces launched the Kursk offensive operation, which for the first time brought the full-scale war onto the territory of the aggressor country. It was a decisive and bold move in response to Russia’s preparation for a new offensive campaign in Sumy and Kharkiv regions. We did not wait for the strike — we delivered it ourselves. This demonstrated that Ukraine is capable not only of defending but also of acting proactively and carrying out effective attacks,” the statement reads.Syrskyi noted that Ukrainian troops not only broke through the Russian defense but also advanced deep into the Russian rear and disrupted their logistics. At the peak of the operation, the Ukrainian Armed Forces controlled up to 1,300 square kilometers of the Kursk region territory. Thanks to this, Russian troops were unable to implement their offensive plans and create a buffer zone in the Sumy region, as Russian reserves had to be redeployed to Kursk. This also helped reduce pressure on other frontlines and demoralized the Russian forces.Over the course of a year in the area of responsibility of the Kursk military grouping, the Russian army lost more than 77,000 personnel killed and wounded (around 4,000 of them were citizens of North Korea). A total of 7,236 units of Russian weapons and military equipment were destroyed or damaged, including 211 tanks, 1,083 armored fighting vehicles, 907 artillery systems, 1 aircraft, 3 helicopters, 15 air defense systems, and 2,795 vehicles.“The Kursk operation also delivered an invaluable humanitarian outcome: 1,018 captured Russian servicemen were added to the exchange pool, which has already allowed us to bring home hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers, including those held captive since 2022,” Syrskyi emphasized.According to him, Russian forces only began to regain lost positions and areas after building up their forces by involving North Korean troops and shifting the main intensity of guided bomb strikes to the Kursk region.The Commander-in-Chief stressed that the offensive operation in Kursk achieved most of the objectives set by the country’s top leadership.“The scale of Russian losses, the effectiveness of our asymmetric offensive actions, and our unwavering adherence to international humanitarian law on Russian territory were recognized by the world and became an invaluable source of experience both for Ukrainian forces and our foreign allies. This operation is yet another confirmation that the Ukrainian military possesses strategic thinking, strength, and will,” he stated.Syrskyi thanked the soldiers who participated and continue to participate in the campaign in the Kursk region and honored those who were killed during the operation.He added that Ukrainian forces currently maintain a presence in the Glushkovo district of Russia’s Kursk region, holding back part of the Russian offensive grouping.Fighting in Russia’s Kursk region began on the morning of August 6, 2024, when the Ukrainian Armed Forces crossed the Russia-Ukraine border near Sudzha.Earlier, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated that the Ukrainian Defense Forces’ operation in Russia’s Kursk region has achieved most of its objectives, particularly preventing Russian offensives in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.