MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Russian forces have held the strategic initiative in the zone of the special military operation throughout 2025, advancing almost on all fronts, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said, addressing a year-end Defense Ministry meeting.
According to him, the threat of an incursion into the Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk regions has been reduced with the creation of a buffer zone in the Ukrainian border regions.
TASS has compiled the Defense Minister’s key statements.
Situation in the Northern Military District (NMD) zone
The rate of advance of the East, Center and West battlegroups has increased 1.5-2 times, compared to 2024. These figures reflect "a significant achievement." The Kursk Region has been liberated, and important strongholds of Ukrainian troops in Donbass and Zaporozhye have been destroyed.
Troops of the Battlegroup Dnepr are fighting on routes of approach to the town of Orekhov in the Zaporozhye Region. Russian forces securely hold the Dnieper island area, repelling Ukrainian paratroopers’ attacks on the Tendra and Kinburn spits.
The threat of an incursion into the Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk regions has been reduced with the creation of a buffer zone in the Ukrainian border regions.
The liberation of Kupyansk will help expand the security zone in the Kharkov Region and reduce the threat of shelling the north of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).
The liberation of Krasny Liman continues, and it will pave the way to block Slavyansk.
Russian forces have held the strategic initiative in the zone of the special military operation throughout 2025, advancing almost on all fronts: "Over 300 settlements and more than 6,000 square kilometers of territory have been liberated this year. This exceeds last year’s figures by a third."
The collapse of the Ukrainian armed forces’ defenses is inevitable, and Kiev’s Western allies finally "understand this."
The NATO Threat
An analysis of the military-political situation shows that threats to Russia’s military security have changed over the past three years.
The North Atlantic Alliance continues to "build up its coalition forces."
NATO’s range of nuclear munitions has been updated. Air defense and missile defense systems are being upgraded.
Diplomatic efforts are currently underway to resolve the so-called Ukrainian conflict. At the same time, "we clearly see attempts by the European leaders and the Kiev regime to avoid reaching a settlement. They are dragging out the conflict in hopes of weakening our country to the maximum."
NATO forces have begun active preparations for an armed conflict with Russia some time around 2030. This approach means the military operations will continue in 2026.
The efficiency of the transfer of NATO’s troops to the eastern flank is increasing, for which it is planned to introduce a so-called ‘military Schengen.’
Preserving life and health of military personnel
Military medics save more than 90% of servicemen wounded on the battlefield
The time to transport severely injured soldiers to facilities equipped with advanced medical technologies has reduced from 40 to 36 hours in the past two years
The primary goal of medical support is to preserve life during the "golden hour."
Personnel expansion plan
The Russian army has exceeded the 2025 manning target as almost 410,000 people have signed military service contracts.
Over 27,000 conscripts trained in 20 professions this year, with eight new professions for UAV operator training added.
The number of military professions will be increased increase to 30 next year.
The Russian Armed Forces formed five divisions, 13 brigades, and 30 regiments this year, while another four divisions, 14 brigades, and 39 regiments are expected to be formed next year.
On new weapons
In order to increase combat capabilities, the Russian seaborne nuclear forces received this year the Project Borey-A strategic nuclear-powered submarine Knyaz Pozharsky, armed with Bulava missiles. The construction of two more submarines under this project continues.
The Strategic Missile Forces continue to be re-equipped with the Yars strategic missile system.
Russia has begun the deployment of a new air defense segment based on FPV interceptors.
The first regiment of S-500 air defense systems capable of engaging targets in outer space has entered combat duty in Russia.
Technical equipment of the Russian Armed Forces
This year, the Defense Ministry operated under severe financial constraints related to the federal budget’s capacity.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s total expenditure amounted to 7.3% of GDP in 2025; prioritization will allow for a slight reduction in 2026.
The Russian Defense Ministry has implemented a number of measures to limit the increase of the military budget directly related to the special military operation, saving almost 1 trillion rubles ($12.4 bln) this year.
The saved funds will be used to purchase highly demanded weapons. All conditions have been created to achieve the goals of the special military operation and maintain the required level of combat readiness of the Russian Armed Forces for the long term.
The volume of deliveries of basic weapons, military equipment, and ammunition to the troops this year has "increased by a third" compared to 2024; and the previous shortage of artillery shells has been "largely" resolved.
Provision of the Russian Armed Forces with armored vehicles has doubled compared to previous year.
The effectiveness of the Russian air defense system in repelling Ukrainian attacks averages 97%.
AI in weapons
The main trend in modernizing the Armed Forces in the long term will be the widespread adoption of innovative technologies. The key objective is to industrialize innovative technologies.
The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the military requires "special attention."
Support for military personnel
In In 2026, the Defense Ministry will begin work on making its document flow "paperless," with completion scheduled for December 2027.
The elimination of over half a million paper military salary orders has made it possible to speed up the calculation of salaries by more than two times.
The time for crediting a military salary to a card has been cut "from 24 hours to 30 minutes," and the payment granting time has been shortened "from two months to several days."
The timeframe for receiving monetary compensation for active combat operations has been reduced "from three months to three days."