2024 Kursk offensive

2024 Kursk offensive
Part of attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Claimed extent of Ukrainian advances into Russia Location inside western Russia Kursk offensive as of 16 October 2024
Date 6 August 2024[a] – present (3 months and 2 weeks) Location Kursk Oblast,[b] Russia Result Ongoing Territorial changes Ukrainian partial occupation of Kursk Oblast
Belligerents
Ukraine	Russia Supported by:  North Korea[1]
Commanders and leaders
Oleksandr Syrskyi[3] Dmytro Kholod[4] Eduard Moskaliov[3] Stanislav Krasnov[5]	Andrey Belousov[6] Yunus-Bek Yevkurov[6] Alexei Smirnov Aleksey Dyumin Alexander Bortnikov[7] Apti Alaudinov[8]
Units involved
See order of battle	See order of battle
Strength
Russian claim: 300 soldiers 11 tanks 20+ armoured fighting vehicles (6 August 2024)[9] 1,000 soldiers[10][11] (7 August 2024) Western estimate: 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers and 600 armored vehicles[12][13] (14 August 2024) 15,000–30,000 soldiers[14] (20 August 2024)	Per Ukraine: 50,000 soldiers (5 November 2024)[15] Western estimate: 40,000 soldiers (12 October 2024)[16]
Casualties and losses
65+ pieces of equipment, including 4 tanks[17] 1 Challenger 2 tank[18] several Stryker armoured fighting vehicles[18] 1 Buk-M1 surface-to-air missile system[19][20] 1 S-125 surface-to-air missile system[21] 1 M142 HIMARS[22] Per Russia: 33,250+ casualties[23] 100 captured[4] 2,915 pieces of equipment[23] 26 unmanned aerial vehicles[24]	40+ pieces of equipment, including 11 tanks[17] 2 T-62M tanks[20] 2 Ka-52 helicopters[20][25][26] 115–247+ captured[27][28] Per Ukraine:[29] 7,905 killed 12,220 wounded 717 captured 54 tanks, 276 armored fighting vehicles, 107 guns and mortars, five MLRs and 659 vehicles destroyed 1 Mi-28 helicopter[30] 1 Su-34 aircraft[31] 1 T-90M tank captured[32] 4 T-80 BVM tanks captured 2 T-72 tanks captured[33]
56 civilians killed[34] 266 civilians injured[34] 144,000+ civilians evacuated[35] (133,000+ evacuated in Kursk Oblast and 11,000+ evacuated in Belgorod Oblast)[35][36]

On 6 August 2024, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine as part of 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.^[37][38][39] According to Russia, at least 1,000 troops crossed the border on the first day, supported by tanks and armored vehicles.^[40] A state of emergency was declared in Kursk Oblast,^[40] and Russian reserves were rushed to the area.^[41] On 10 August, Russian authorities introduced a "counter-terrorist operation" regime in Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk oblasts.^[42][43] 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.^[44] By early October, the advance of Ukraine had stalled.^[45] Ukraine established a military administration for the territory under its control on 15 August 2024.

Ukrainian officials have said the goals of the operation include 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 aims 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.^[46][47] The city, alongside Kurakhove, was singled out by Ukrainian military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi as one direction from which the offensive had intended to divert Russian forces. The BBC noted that this goal seems to have failed, as Russian forces were instead bolstered on the Pokrovsk frontline.^[48] The Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia moved forces from "lower-priority" areas (Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Kaliningrad), but not from Donetsk Oblast.^[49] Additional criticisms also came from some of Ukraine's top military leaders including Valery Zaluzhny and Emil Ishkulov, according to Politico.^[50]

The Kursk offensive surprised both Russia and Ukraine's allies.^[41] It is the most significant attack across the border since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,^[51] 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.^[52]

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