Chief of the General Staff of Russia: Russia does not intend to stop the war

Russia has no plans to halt its joint actions against Ukraine. Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of Russia, made an official statement about this.

According to him, "the combined group of troops (forces) will continue to perform tasks within the framework of the special military operation with offensive operations." He also emphasized that the goals set for the troops for the autumn routes will be redefined.

The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video of Gerasimov's speech. It was noted that the results of the spring-summer 2025 campaign were summarized and tasks for the next stage were defined.

"The strategic initiative is fully in the hands of the Russian Armed Forces," he said. Gerasimov emphasized that the Russian army currently controls approximately 99.7% of the Luhansk region, 79% of Donetsk, 74% of Zaporizhzhia, and 76% of the Kherson region.

At the same time, Gerasimov stated that the mass strikes on Ukraine on August 28 and 30 were "aimed at facilities related to the military-industrial complex." However, according to media reports, after the strikes, an apartment building entrance in Kyiv was destroyed, 25 people, including four children, were killed, and in other areas, civilian infrastructure suffered significant damage.

Overall, the Russian army controls approximately 20% of Ukraine's territory. However, most of these lands were occupied in the first weeks of the war. According to Deep State, over the last 1010 days of the war, Russia has taken control of only 5,842 km2, which is only 0.97% of the country's territory.

According to The Economist analysts, by the summer of 2025, the Russian army had lost one soldier per 0.038 km2. According to them, at this rate, access to the administrative borders of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions will be possible no earlier than February 2029. And to completely occupy the territory of Ukraine, it will be necessary to fight for almost another 89 years.