On 6 August 2024, during the Russo-Ukrainian war, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast and clashed with the Russian Armed Forces and Russian border guard. A state of emergency was declared in Kursk Oblast, and Russian reserves were rushed to the area. By the end of the first week, the Ukrainian military said it had captured 1,000 km2 (390 sq mi) of Russian territory, while Russian authorities acknowledged that Ukraine had captured 28 settlements.
In the second half of August the front stabilized, and in early October, the Ukrainian advance had stalled. From November, North Korean forces were sent to the province to support the Russian military. By the end of that month, Russian forces recaptured around half of the territory Ukraine had occupied. By 11 March 2025, most of the Ukrainian forces appeared to have retreated as a result of a Russian counterattack. Russian troops entered Sudzha, around which a shrinking pocket of territory still controlled by Ukraine had formed, the next day.
Ukrainian officials said the goals of the operation included inflicting damage on Russia's military, capturing Russian troops, pushing Russian artillery further out of range, hindering Russian supply lines and diverting their forces from other fronts. It also aimed to put pressure on the Russian government and force it into "fair" peace negotiations. By the end of August, the operation began to be criticized for diverting Ukrainian forces from the east, stretching Ukraine's personnel along the front and allowing Russia to advance toward Pokrovsk. The Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia had moved forces from "lower-priority" areas, but not from Donetsk Oblast.
The Ukrainian incursion into Kursk surprised Russia, some of Ukraine's allies, and many in the Ukrainian elite. It is the most significant attack across the border since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the first carried out primarily by Ukrainian regular forces. Earlier smaller incursions into Russia by pro-Ukrainian forces had taken place with Ukraine supporting them but denying explicit involvement.
Western analysts differed in their assessment of the outcome of the Ukrainian offensive, with defence researcher Marina Miron viewing it as a strategic failure for Ukraine, Markus Reisner taking the view that a correct assessment of the battle could only be given after the total withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Kursk to determine the losses incurred, and former military advisor Nico Lange viewing it as a success. Land warfare expert Nick Reynolds said that Ukraine had held the Sudzha pocket for a "remarkable" amount of time, and that the Ukrainian offensive had had a "shaping effect on Russian thinking".
Background
There have been attacks in mainland Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian war since its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The main targets have been the military, the arms industry and the oil industry. Many of the attacks have been drone strikes, firebombing, and rail sabotage. The Ukrainian intelligence services have acknowledged carrying out some of these attacks. Others have been carried out by anti-war activists in Russia. There have also been cross-border shelling, missile strikes, and covert raids from Ukraine, mainly in Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk oblasts. Several times, Ukrainian-based paramilitaries launched incursions into Russia, captured border villages and battled the Russian military. These were carried out by units made up mainly of Russian emigrants. While Ukraine supported these ground incursions, it denied direct involvement.
Captured Russian military documents reviewed by The Guardian contained internal warnings about a Ukrainian cross-border operation in the area months before it took place. Unit commanders were warned in February that the Ukrainian military was planning a "rapid push" from the Sumy Oblast into Russian territory up to a depth of 80 kilometres (50 mi). More specifically, a document dated mid-June warned of Ukrainian plans to conduct an operation from the direction of Yunakivka, with the aim of taking control of Sudzha.
Russia's military chief Valery Gerasimov reportedly ignored intelligence warnings that Ukrainian troops were massing near the Russia–Ukraine border. Bloomberg reported that Russian intelligence had warned of a possible invasion of the Kursk region two weeks in advance. According to Bloomberg, citing "a person close to the Kremlin", Putin was not informed of the threat.
All legal national borders of Russia are controlled by the FSB Border Guard under the command of FSB director Alexander Bortnikov. Most of the men guarding the border in Kursk Oblast were young, inexperienced conscripts, lightly equipped army infantry units, and the National Guard (Rosgvardiya). Some of the conscripts were unarmed.
Preparations
Ukraine's military intelligence agency had begun preparing for the operation in Kursk by March 2024.
In late June 2024, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's commander-in-chief, gave orders to the commanders of Ukraine's 80th and 82nd Air Assault Brigades, according to the 82nd's commander, Dmytro Voloshyn.
Andrii Krysiuk, the 82nd Brigade's chief of staff, said that the planning for the operation took place among a limited circle of people in rooms without any telephones, in order to maintain secrecy.
Units of the 80th, 82nd, and the 22nd Mechanized Brigade were moved discreetly from other fronts into the Sumy Oblast as early as mid-July, under the pretenses of training and picking up new equipment. Officers were told to avoid wearing military uniforms when entering Ukrainian towns and cities, in order not to draw attention. The military buildup was noticed by Ukrainian civilians in the village of Khotin and the Yunakivka district. The paratroopers of the 80th Brigade reportedly trained for several weeks to prepare for the operation, including in mock terrain made to resemble villages in Kursk Oblast.
Units of the 95th Air Assault Brigade were informed in late July about the operation, about a week before it began, as they were being redeployed from the Toretsk front, and were given three days to train and prepare.
Pavlo Rozlach, the commander of the 80th Brigade, said that his unit had begun infiltrating into Kursk Oblast on 4 August with the help of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces. Groups of six soldiers were deployed and were hidden in forests in preparation for the main assault on 6 August.
The Ukrainian incursion was preceded by artillery shelling and drone strikes during the night of 5–6 August.
Timeline
August 2024: Ukrainian offensive
6 August
On 6 August 2024, Russia reportedly deployed air and artillery forces to counter a Ukrainian border incursion in Kursk Oblast. Ukrainian fighters, equipped with tanks and armored vehicles, crossed into Russian territory. The Russian Ministry of Defense responded by sending troops and aviation units to the area. According to Russia, the incursion involved around 300 Ukrainian troops, 11 tanks, and over 20 armored combat vehicles, and was aimed in two directions: at Oleshnya in the direction of Sudzha, east-northeast of Sumy, and towards Nikolayevo-Darino, north-northeast of Sumy. It was reported that Chechen Akhmat battalions were responding to the raids, though these claims remained unverified as of 13 September 2024.
The attack began at 08:00 MSK. A statement by Russian forces on Telegram at around 18:20, claiming that they had pushed the Ukrainians back across the border, and inflicted significant losses through artillery, air strikes, and drones, was later edited by them to imply fighting was ongoing. Moscow released videos purportedly showing Ukrainian tanks being targeted from the air. Social media footage suggested Russian warplanes operated at low altitudes over Kursk Oblast to repel the attack. Alexei Smirnov, acting governor of Kursk Oblast, reported that three people died during the events: a woman in the border incursion and two individuals in separate drone attacks. Russian milbloggers also largely dismissed the supposed raids as "unsuccessful" and a "media stunt".
According to Russia, at least 1,000 troops crossed the border on the first day, supported by tanks and armored vehicles. According to Andrzej Wilk of the Centre for Eastern Studies, the entire Ukrainian grouping, including some elements which did not cross over into Russia, consisted of an estimated 2,000 men from Ukraine's 22nd and 82nd Brigades, supported by artillery and air defense sub-units. It was later claimed by members of the Ukrainian military that the breakthrough on the border was conducted by the 80th and 82nd Air Assault Brigades.
Russian milbloggers claimed that the offensive was being performed by the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), while the New Voice of Ukraine citing a source in Ukraine's Main Military Intelligence reported that the RVC was not present.
7 August
A milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces had captured 11 settlements and had advanced 14 kilometres (9 mi) deep into the oblast. Government agencies were ordered by President Vladimir Putin to "provide the needed assistance to residents", and deputy prime minister Denis Manturov was sent to oversee their work. Kursk Oblast was placed under a state of emergency by governor Smirnov.
Putin met with key members of the security establishment including Valery Gerasimov, Alexander Bortnikov, Sergei Shoigu and Andrey Belousov on the Kursk incursion. Gerasimov told Putin that about 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers took part in the attack and that their advance had been halted.
Geolocated footage confirmed that Ukrainian forces had advanced at least 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) across the Russian border, having penetrated at least two Russian defensive lines and a stronghold. Russian sources indicated that Ukrainian forces were trying to advance along the 38K-030 Sudzha-Korenevo highway, and a prominent Kremlin-affiliated milblogger claimed that by 18:00 local time on 7 August, Ukrainian forces had advanced both northwest and southeast along the highway and were now fighting on the outskirts of Korenevo and Sudzha. Additionally, geolocated footage showed four Ukrainian personnel capturing at least 40 Russian POWs, as well as fighting within city limits of Sudzha, with Ukrainian forces capturing a gas-station and the entry check-point. The previous day, 35 Russian servicemen were claimed to have been captured by Ukrainian forces after failing to prevent a breakthrough. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian lieutenant claimed that 300 Russian soldiers had been captured in the "Kursk People's Republic" during two days; he referred to the Ukrainian forces operating there as "a contingent of unidentified armed formations".
Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko reported that Ukrainian forces had captured the Sudzha gas hub which feeds the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline into the rest of Europe. Additionally, there were reports of fighting in Ivnitsa, a village 24 km (15 mi) from the border. Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces had reached the village of Darino.
8 August
RIA Novosti reported that four people died as a result of 'attacks' by the AFU in the oblast as fighting continued for the third day. Pro-Russian milblogger Yuri Podolyaka said that "Sudzha is basically lost to us" and that Ukrainian forces were pushing towards Lgov.
Ukrainian forces were in control of the western part of Sudzha and the surrounding roads; skirmishes continued in the town.
According to Smirnov, the acting governor of Kursk Oblast, six Ukrainian drones and five missiles were shot down during the night and morning.
Reports claimed that the combat zone had expanded to 430 square kilometers, and claimed that Ukrainian forces entered the settlement of Mirny and had taken control of the villages of Kazachya Loknya, Bogdanovka, 1st Knyazhiy and 2nd Knyazhiy. Skirmishes took place in the village of Snagost. Ukrainian troops were present in areas 35 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
9 August
Reports claimed that Ukrainian troops had captured around 100–200 square kilometers of territory, at a depth of around 10 kilometers on average. Based on independent and own analyses, CNN put the area of territory over which Russia had lost control at 250 square kilometers at least.
A convoy of Russian troops was reportedly destroyed in a HIMARS strike in the village of Oktyabrskoye while moving along the route connecting Glushkovsky District and Kursk and passing through Rylsky and Lgovsky districts. Footage of the aftermath showed 15 burned military trucks, with some bodies inside. According to the Ukrainian analyst group NEXTA, "each of these trucks can carry up to 35 fully equipped soldiers. The video shows 14 destroyed vehicles, which suggests that the Russian army could have lost between 200 and 490 soldiers in one night as a result of the strike... This could become one of the largest one-time losses for the Russian army since the beginning of the full-scale war". A Russian Telegram channel wrote: "They were armed, most likely a platoon per vehicle. 3-4 companies – an entire battalion was destroyed. Judging by the appearance of the column, about half were killed. This is one of the bloodiest and most massive strikes (most likely Himars) in the entire war."
Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the Chechen Akhmat units that had been stationed in Belgorod and Kursk since the last incursion, informed Russian media that he and his forces did not engage Ukrainian troops as they passed their positions, instead opting to retreat until more Russian reinforcements could arrive, while some Russian milbloggers claimed they fled from the battle. Alaudinov had at that point in time been the only Russian commander to admit that Ukrainian forces were in control of settlements along the border.
In anticipation of Russian airstrikes, 20,000 people were ordered to evacuate from Sumy Oblast. Russian reinforcements, many of which were units already deployed around the Russia–Ukraine border, continued to arrive near the frontline in Kursk Oblast, where fighting persisted over Sudzha.
The Russian MOD published a report on the transfer of a military column from Belgorod Oblast to Sudzhansky District, which included 152-mm self-propelled "Msta-S" artillery pieces and combat support vehicles. Combat markings showed that Russian command was transferring battle-hardened troops to Kursk Oblast as reinforcement.