The fight in Russia’s Kursk Region is a “decisive battle” which will ultimately lead to Kiev’s collapse, Major-General Apty Alaudinov, the commander of the Akhmat Special Forces from Russia’s Chechen Republic, has claimed.
In a video posted on his Telegram channel on Saturday, Alaudinov, who was appointed deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces in April 2024, said it is “inconceivable” that Russia could be defeated on the battlefield.
The comments were made with regard to Ukraine’s incursion into the border region of Kursk, the largest assault on Russian territory since the outbreak of the conflict between the neighboring states in February 2022.
“I see no reason for you to doubt, to think that we could even lose this battle,” he said, while making an appeal for more people to join the army.
“I urge all of you to make a decision in this battle. The decisive battle,” he said, adding: “Because after this battle, Ukraine will fall,” as well as NATO, Europe, the US, and “all those supporting Ukraine.”
He noted that Americans, Poles, English, and French people have been seen fighting for Kiev. “You have no place… in our land, and we will do everything to keep you out,” he said, stressing that “Russia is more united than ever; we are a force that no one can stop.”
Since the beginning of the incursion on Tuesday, the Ukrainian military has lost nearly 1,120 soldiers and 140 armored vehicles, the Russian Defense Ministry stated, adding that the advance has been halted.
Moscow called the raid a provocation and accused Kiev of targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure in the region.