Key Facts
- Start date
- 24 February 2022
- Status
- Ongoing
- Primary attack methods
- Drone strikes, firebombing, rail sabotage, shelling
- Main targeted regions
- Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk oblasts
- Largest single operation
- Kursk Oblast offensive, August 2024
Strategic Narrative Overview
Attacks ranged from drone strikes and firebombing to cross-border artillery and missile fire, concentrated in Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk oblasts. Russian emigrant paramilitary units staged several ground incursions, briefly capturing border villages. The most significant escalation came in August 2024, when Ukrainian regular forces launched a major offensive into Kursk Oblast, seizing numerous settlements in the largest assault on Russian soil since the conflict began.
01 / The Origins
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 prompted Ukrainian military and intelligence services, as well as Russian anti-war activists, to carry out retaliatory strikes on Russian mainland territory. The attacks targeted military installations, arms manufacturing, and oil infrastructure, aiming to disrupt Russian war logistics and impose costs on Russia for its aggression.
03 / The Outcome
As of the available record, the conflict remains ongoing with no ceasefire or resolution. Ukraine continues operations inside Russia and in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. The Kursk incursion marked a strategic shift toward conventional cross-border operations, though the ultimate territorial and political outcome of these attacks remains undetermined.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.