6 August marked a qualitative shift in the character of hostilities with the launch by Ukraine of a ground operation on the territory of the Russian Federation in Kursk Oblast. At approximately 08:00 Moscow time, Ukrainian units—numbering around 300 soldiers and supported by armoured equipment—crossed the state border, capturing the villages of Nikolayevo-Daryino and Oleshnya. During the fighting, a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter and two T-62 tanks were destroyed, and ten Russian soldiers were taken prisoner.

For the first time in history, the Security Service of Ukraine intercepted a Mi-28 helicopter in mid-air using an FPV drone, underscoring Ukraine’s growing capabilities in asymmetric air-defence operations. In parallel, Ukrainian military intelligence conducted a successful amphibious raid on the Tendrivska Spit, destroying Russian fortifications and electronic warfare assets.

On the eastern front, the situation further deteriorated. Russian forces pushed Ukrainian units out of Krasnohorivka and entered Toretsk, while heavy fighting continued in the town of New York, which faced the threat of encirclement. On the same day, a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile struck civilian infrastructure in central Kharkiv, killing one person and injuring twelve others, including an eight-month-old infant. The attack once again confirmed the systematic nature of Russian strikes against non-military targets, which—given their repetition and scale—bear the hallmarks of war crimes. Internationally, the Council of the European Union approved a €4.2 billion support package for Ukraine, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced an acceleration of Ukraine’s domestic missile programme in response to the escalation of Russian terror.

In the following days, the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk Oblast gained momentum. On 7 August, the Armed Forces of Ukraine advanced up to 10 kilometres into Russian territory, securing an area of approximately 45 km² and eleven localities. A key success was the seizure of a checkpoint and the gas distribution station in Sudzha, a development of both military and symbolic significance. A state of emergency was declared in the region. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak emphasised that these operations strengthened Ukraine’s negotiating position, while representatives of the United States and the European Union confirmed Kyiv’s right to conduct defensive operations on the territory of the aggressor.

On 8 August, Ukraine’s operational zone in Kursk Oblast expanded to as much as 35 kilometres inside Russia, with fighting concentrated inter alia around Sudzha and Snagost. Russia was forced to redeploy part of its reserves from Donbas and to engage mercenary formations, including elements of the Wagner Group. According to findings reported by Bloomberg, Russian intelligence had warned military command of Ukrainian force concentrations in this direction two weeks earlier, but these reports were ignored, resulting in strategic surprise.

Ukraine formally requested that Mexico detain Vladimir Putin pursuant to the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court should he visit the country, thereby reinforcing the international dimension of criminal accountability for crimes committed in Ukraine.

On 9 August, Russia carried out a brutal missile strike on the Ekomarket shopping centre in Kostiantynivka, killing fourteen people and injuring forty-three others. The attack on a purely civilian facility devoid of military significance was widely recognised as a grave violation of the law of armed conflict. The United States announced a new military assistance package for Ukraine worth USD 125 million.

On 10 August, the Kremlin announced the launch of a “counterterrorism operation” in Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod oblasts, introducing extraordinary security measures and extensive surveillance of the civilian population. Despite the redeployment of Russian reserves, Ukrainian forces held their positions, and the area of active hostilities expanded to approximately 650 km². Ukrainian troops shot down another Ka-52 helicopter, and the 252nd Battalion entered the Russian village of Poroz in Belgorod Oblast. President Zelenskyy publicly confirmed for the first time that the objective of the operation was to shift hostilities onto the territory of the aggressor state in order to reduce pressure on Ukrainian cities and civilians.

Simultaneously, Ukraine achieved further successes in the Black Sea, where Sea Baby and Magura V5 naval drones destroyed a Russian drilling platform used as an electronic warfare post and a Tunets-class patrol vessel. In response, Alexander Lukashenko accused Ukraine of provocation and ordered the reinforcement of Belarusian troops along the border—a move widely interpreted as political-military pressure and an attempt to tie down part of Ukraine’s forces.

Illustrative photo generated by AI