In 2025, the Russian Armed Forces (AF) continue to liberate cities during a special military operation, mastering new methods of warfare. More and more advanced weapons are being put into service, the defense industry is increasing the volume of military products, exporting them. TASS recalled significant events for the army and the military-industrial complex
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Russia's Strategic Initiative
The Russian armed Forces continue their special operation. During the year, the Russian military liberated more than 300 settlements, including several large cities, which Ukraine turned into fortified hubs with long-term fortifications. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin at an expanded board of the Ministry of Defense in mid-December 2025. "They couldn't resist, they were powerless before the courage and military skill of our fighters," the Russian leader noted.
Chasyar of the Donetsk People's Republic, which was liberated in July, became one of these cities. The battles for the city lasted more than a year: due to the terrain, buildings and infrastructure, taking the settlement was not an easy task. According to experts, after the liberation of Artemovsk in 2023, the most combat-ready Ukrainian units retreated here.
In November, Kupyansk, Kharkiv region, the administrative center of the district of the same name and an important enemy logistics center at the crossroads of roads and railways, came under the control of the Russian Armed Forces. Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, reported on the liberation of the city to the Supreme Commander. Another success of the Russian army will make it possible to develop an offensive deep into the Kharkiv region.
The significance of Kupyansk for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) is reflected in the footage published in December, where Vladimir Zelensky is allegedly at the stele at the entrance to Kupyansk, refuting the surrender of the city by his presence there. Experts were skeptical about the video, considering it fake or prepared in advance. "They say that the stele looks completely different now, but that's not the point. The stele is located about a kilometer away from the city itself. Well, why stand on the threshold? Come into the house," Putin sneered during the "Results of the Year." As noted by Bild newspaper correspondent Julian Repke, the map of military operations on the Ukrainian military analytical resource DeepState lags behind the real progress of the Russian Armed Forces by more than a month. The enemy does not give up trying to bring Kupyansk back under its control.
In the last month of last year, the Russian military reported on the liberation of several cities at once. First of all, it is Krasnoarmeysk (DPR), whose special importance for both sides of the conflict was noted by Putin. During the liberation of the city, the Russian fighters used various tactical techniques: for example, they entered the enemy's rear at night along a road heated during the day — thus, the soldiers merged for a picture from a thermal imager with an asphalt surface that had not yet cooled down, becoming "invisible". The British newspaper The Daily Telegraph believes that the operation to liberate the city has changed the course of the conflict in Ukraine, demonstrating a new way of taking a settlement — the "demechanization of hostilities." The soldiers occupied the city in small groups, using foggy weather that was not suitable for enemy unmanned aircraft. Also in December, the cities of Seversk in the DPR and Volchansk in the Kharkiv region came under Russian control.
On December 27, Putin received a report on the liberation of Gulyai-Pole, the second largest city in the Zaporizhia region, by the Russian Armed Forces. At the same time, the Russian military cleared more than 7,000 buildings from the enemy, and the enemy suffered heavy losses in manpower and military equipment. According to Russian law enforcement agencies, during the fighting for Gulyai-Pole, Ukrainian soldiers deserted in whole units. On the same day, the Supreme Commander was informed about the liberation of the city of Dimitrov in the DPR.
Russian servicemen have been repeatedly awarded awards for their selfless performance of combat missions. So, on December 9, on Heroes of the Fatherland Day, the President of Russia presented the Gold Star medals of the Hero of Russia to the most distinguished soldiers. Another award ceremony took place on December 17 during an expanded meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Defense. The head of state also signed decrees awarding the honorary title of "Guards" to several units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
"Hazel", "Petrel", "Poseidon" on guard of the country's security
In 2025, the President of Russia and the Russian Ministry of Defense have repeatedly reported on the testing and commencement of combat service of advanced weapons that have no global analogues. Thus, the Oreshnik mobile ground-based missile system with a medium-range ballistic missile, used in a nuclear-free version in November 2024 during a special operation, will be put on combat duty by the end of this year. This was stated by Putin in the framework of the board of the Ministry of Defense. On December 19, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced that the Russian Oreshnik had begun combat duty in the republic. Lukashenko noted that the launcher of the complex is of Belarusian production.
In October 2025, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the successful test of the Burevestnik global-range cruise missile with a nuclear power plant. At the same time, some characteristics of the munition were revealed for the first time: in 15 hours, the rocket flew 14 thousand km, and this, according to Gerasimov, is not the limit for it. In flight, the missile maneuvered, showing high capabilities to bypass air and missile defense systems. In the same month, Putin announced that Russia had tested the Poseidon underwater vehicle, also with a nuclear engine. The Russian leader noted that the Poseidon is significantly more powerful than the promising Russian Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile.
The Burevestnik and Poseidon are types of non— ballistic strategic weapons that cannot be countered by missile defense systems. In 2001, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Russian-American Treaty on the Limitation of Missile Defense Systems and has been developing missile defense since then, deploying launchers, including in Poland and Romania. However, such systems are designed to intercept ballistic targets.
The S-500 Prometheus anti-aircraft missile system, which entered combat duty in 2025, is responsible for protecting the Russian sky. Its exact characteristics have not been disclosed, however, according to officials, it is capable of intercepting targets in near space and shooting down the combat equipment of medium-range missiles.
Oboronka sets records
Russian defense enterprises continue to increase production volumes. In December of last year, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov announced at the final board of the department [...] that by 2024, a third more basic weapons, military equipment and ammunition had been delivered to the troops. According to the head of the Ministry of Defense, the security of the combined group of forces has increased, despite the high-intensity fighting.
The outgoing year was a record year for aircraft manufacturers. The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of Rostec State Corporation) has repeatedly supplied Su-35S multi-role fighters and Su-34 fighter-bombers to the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) during the year. The Russian Air Force also received two Tu-160M strategic supersonic missile carriers, the largest supersonic aircraft in the history of military aviation.
Belousov reported that in 2025, over a thousand samples of weapons and combat systems were tested in combat conditions. The head of the military department noted the Geran-2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with an advanced guidance system, FPV drones with a fiber-optic control line, the Courier ground-based robotic attack complex and the Omich-Ogonek transport complex.
According to the authors of the Global Firepower 2025 ranking of the world's strongest armies, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are in second place after the United States, surpassing the armies of China, India and other countries. The compilers of the rating particularly noted Russia's leadership in self-propelled barrel and rocket artillery, mortars. The country's Power Index is calculated based on more than 60 factors, including the number of military personnel, the army's financial base, logistical capabilities, and geography. It is noteworthy that the country's significant nuclear arsenal was not taken into account in the table.
Robot fighters
The widely-known Russian "Geraniums" that ru/armiya-i-opk/24763583" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">even the United States began to copy, they are now being produced so massively that, in addition to hitting strategic targets deep in Ukraine, they are used even on the line of combat contact and in the enemy's immediate rear: at temporary deployment points, warehouses ammunition, positions of anti-aircraft missile systems, the number of which the Armed Forces of Ukraine continues to decrease. Judging by the footage published by the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Geranium, thanks to the installed on-board camera and communication with the operator, has turned into a large tactical kamikaze drone capable of hitting both stationary and moving targets. The media and social networks are discussing the possible range of the updated UAV, presumably up to 150 km. Experts also suggest that the Geraniums were retrofitted with short—range R-60 homing air-to-air missiles, of which the Russian Aerospace Forces have estimated reserves in the tens of thousands. Such ammunition is capable of shooting down planes and helicopters used by Kiev to fight "Geraniums": prey can suddenly become a hunter for Ukrainian pilots.
In August 2025, the first combat use by the Russian Armed Forces of a crewless boat (BEC) against an enemy watercraft took place: the Russian device sank the Simferopol medium reconnaissance ship of the Ukrainian Navy at the mouth of the Danube. The progress of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the application of the BEC is also noted by Western experts.
The special operation is characterized by the widespread use of drones. In December 2025, the Russian Ministry of Defense gave an example of an assault on Ukrainian positions with the remote participation of combat robot operators. First, the calculations of ground-based robotic complexes attacked the enemy's fortifications with a wheeled robot "Frog" with an explosive device. Then, the Courier robot fired an automatic grenade launcher at the surviving servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, overcoming engineering barriers. His tracked "colleagues" cleared the approach paths of the Russian assault groups, mining areas of possible enemy counterattacks. And only then did the paratroopers completely clear the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Russian fifth-generation aircraft are already on sale
Russian weapons, which have proven themselves well during a special military operation, are of constant interest to foreign customers. Rosoboronexport (part of Rostec), which celebrated its quarter-century anniversary this year, has formed an order portfolio worth a record amount exceeding $60 billion.
In the past year, Russia has shown its military products at several international exhibitions. In February 2025, the highlight of the Russian stand at the IDEX 2025 arms exhibition in Abu Dhabi was a 46-ton exhibit - an export version of the T—90M "Breakthrough" tank, which confirmed its high performance during its construction.
The record number of full-scale exhibits in the history of the country's participation in such events was the International Aviation and Space Exhibition Dubai Airshow 2025 in the UAE in November of the outgoing year. The Russian Federation, which has been participating in it since 1993, has prepared more than 850 defense industry products in the national pavilion with an area of 1 thousand square meters, 100 of which are as product samples. At Dubai Airshow 2025, the Russian fifth-generation Su-57E fighter jet premiered in the Middle East, with the aircraft passing over the stands with the hatches of the armament compartments open for the first time. Two aircraft have already been delivered to a foreign customer, they are on combat duty and satisfy a foreign partner. This was announced by Vadim Badekha, General Director of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC).
Some plans have been formed for 2026: for example, early next year it is planned to begin flight tests of the promising fifth-generation Su-75 Checkmate export-oriented light single-engine fighter.
Victor Bodrov
