| 2025 Belgorod offensive | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theRusso-Ukrainian War andattacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine | |||||||||
 Map of Belgorod oblast as of 5 April 2025 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Ukraine |  Russia | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Russian claim:[1] Up to 200 soldiers Up to 29+vehicles[a][2] | Russian claim: 25 soldiers | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
Per OSINT: 250+ casualties 4 tanks 19 armored vehicles 12 motor vehicles 1BM-21 Grad 2 artillery guns | Per Russia (March 19): 1+ soldier killed 4+ wounded[4] | ||||||||
| 1+ civilians killed, 2+ wounded[5] | |||||||||
On 18 March 2025, at around 5:50 AMMoscow time,[b] during theRusso-Ukrainian War, theArmed Forces of Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion intoRussia, invadingBelgorod Oblast and clashing with theRussian military. Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed for the first time on 7 April 2025 that Ukrainian troops were in Belgorod Oblast.
On 18 March 2025, theRussian Ministry of Defence claimed that five attacks were carried out by theUkrainian Armed Forces during the day.[1] The governor of Belgorod Oblast,Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that theKrasnoyaruzhsky District had been repeatedly shelled in the preceding 24 hours and attacked by 49 Ukrainian drones, 12 of which were intercepted.[6] TheTelegram milblogger "Zapiski Vеterana" stated that after thedefeat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region and the Russian recapture ofSudzha, the Ukrainian leadership decided to continue active military operations on the Russian-Ukrainian border "in order to tie down Russian combat-ready units in this section of the front".[7] The Russian MOD claimed on this day the Russians inflicted 60 casualties, as well as knocking out one tank, seven other types of armored vehicles, three combat engineer vehicles, and one light vehicle.[2]
Many Russian milbloggers claimed on the morning of March 19 that Russian forces repelled Ukrainian attacks towardDemidovka,Grafovka, andPrilesye.[8] A Kremlin-affiliated Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces maintain positions in forest areas along theSumy-Belgorod Oblast border, and a Russian insider source claimed that Ukrainian forces advanced near Grafovka later in the day.[8]
Additionally, on 20 March, theGeneral Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that a Russian command post nearDemidovka was destroyed.[9]
The governor ofBelgorod Oblast,Vyacheslav Gladkov, stated that "the situation inKrasnoyaruzhsky district remains difficult," noting that the shelling in that district resulted in one soldier killed and four wounded.[4]
Russia's defence ministry claimed that the attack was repelled, as it did during the start of theKursk offensive launched by Ukraine.[10] Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, denied this claim.[11] The Russian response to the incursion involved a set of coordinated strikes, including 30air andmissile strikes, 13 strikes carried out bycombat helicopters, one launch from anIskander short-range ballistic missile system, a single strike using aTornado-S multiple-launch rocket system, and two assaults employing theTOS-1A heavy flamethrower system. This response targeted Ukrainian forces positioned approximately five to six miles from the border in theSumy region of Ukraine.[2] The Russian MOD claimed that the Russians inflicted roughly 150 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed four enemy tanks in its area of responsibility in the Belgorod direction on March 20.[3]
On 21 March, the governor of Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, stated that one civilian was killed and two were wounded, with one hospitalized in serious condition, following a Ukrainiandrone strike on the village ofDobrino [ru] in theRakityansky District. Ukraine's General Staff has reported that the Ukrainian Air Force struck a command post of a Russian border guard outpost in the settlement of Glotovo.[12] The Russian MOD claimed that two drones were shot down by itsair defence systems over Belgorod andKursk.[5] TheInstitute for the Study of War assessed that Ukrainian forces advanced during the day southwest of Demidovka. According to some Russian milbloggers, Ukrainian forces are consolidating positions on the outskirts of Demidovka andPrilesye, while Ukrainian infantry are attacking near Demidovka,Grafovka, and Prilesye.
By 22 March, the Ukrainian Armed Forces retained their positions nearPrilesye and south ofDemidovka.[13] The Russian MOD claimed that theUkrainian Armed Forces lost up to 95 servicemen, one tank, two armored combat vehicles, 14 cars, and six artillery pieces on 22 March.[14]
A military blogger, Yuri Podolyaka, said that "the Russian army knocked out the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the settlement of Demidovka, Belgorod region",[15] although the next day, geolocated footage indicated that Ukrainian forces had advanced into central Demidovka.[16]
Ukrainian presidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy said for the first time that Ukrainian troops were operating in Belgorod Oblast.[17]
Russian troops advanced in south-western Demidovka.[18]
Russian forces recaptured Popovka by 26 April.[19]
TheRussian Ministry of Defence claimed that the attack was launched "to discredit the peace initiatives of U.S. PresidentDonald Trump."[20]
Ukrainian Armed Forces
Ukrainian Ground Forces
33rd Assault Regiment [uk][21]
Ukrainian Air Force[22]
Ukrainian Air Assault Forces
Ukrainian Marine Corps
Territorial Defence Forces
Russian Armed Forces
Russian Ground Forces
18th Combined Arms Army
44th Army Corps
49th Combined Arms Army
11th Army Corps
18th Guards Motor Rifle Division
Elements of the6th Combined Arms Army[28]
3rd Guards Combined Arms Army
Russian Aerospace Forces
Russian Air Force
Russian Airborne Forces
Russian Navy
Federal Security Service
National Guard of Russia
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