KURSK REGION, March 12. /TASS/. Russian forces repelling Ukraine’s attack on the Kursk Region have entered the Sumy Region in certain areas, Army General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and first deputy defense minister, reported to President Vladimir Putin.

"The operation to wipe out the enemy on Kursk soil continues. The Ukrainian army’s penetration group has been surrounded and is being steadily destroyed. In some areas, Russian units have crossed the state border into the Sumy Region where they continue to destroy enemy reserves and expand the security zone," he said.

Gerasimov stressed that the movement along the state border by the forces of the 76th and 106th airborne divisions, the 83rd Air Assault Brigade, and marines from the 810th Marine Brigade, along with the activities of the Rubicon drone unit in the border areas of the Kursk Region and in Ukraine’s Sumy Region in February had made it possible to take the remaining logistics routes of the Ukrainian armed forces under fire control, which prevented them from deploying reserves, delivering ammunition and other supplies.

The General Staff chief also noted that offensive operations by the 155th Marine Brigade in the Nikolskoye area had made it possible to fully surround a major enemy group of forces north of Malaya Loknya. Subsequent actions by the 34th Motorized Infantry Brigade, the 22th Motorized Infantry Regiment, the Ninth Motorized Infantry Regiment and other units contributed to the liberation of Malaya Loknya and its neighboring settlements. "The enemy suffered great losses, and small enemy groups started to retreat south, losing more troops on their way from our artillery and drone attacks," Gerasimov added.