On August 6, Kyiv began the military operation into Kursk, which appeared to take Russian President Vladimir Putin and even Ukraine's allies by surprise. Kyiv later announced it had seized 500 square miles at what was then the lightly-defended border of the Russian region.

Ukrainian forces on Sunday launched a new offensive inside Russia's western Kursk border region, going on the attack with substantial forces.

Ukraine aimed to challenge the self-imposed red lines set by the Biden administration and other Western leaders regarding its ability to strike back against Russia.