For the first time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has openly confirmed that Ukrainian forces are conducting military operations inside Russia’s Belgorod region, which shares a border with Ukraine.
“We continue to carry out active operations in the border areas on enemy territory—and that is absolutely fair. War must return to where it came from,” Zelensky stated on Monday.
He also referred to Ukraine’s continued presence in the Russian Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces have maintained control over a small area following a major offensive last year. Although Moscow has since reclaimed much of that territory, Ukraine still holds some ground.
Zelensky emphasized that the main goal of these cross-border operations is to defend Ukraine’s own border regions, specifically Sumy and Kharkiv, and to alleviate pressure on other critical parts of the front line, especially in the eastern Donetsk region.
Last month, Russia’s military claimed that Ukrainian forces had attempted incursions into Belgorod but said they had successfully repelled the attacks. The contested areas lie just a short distance inside Russian territory.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Russian forces currently occupy around 20% of Ukraine’s land.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has dismissed accusations from the U.S. and European nations that it is stalling on a ceasefire initiative supported by former U.S. President Donald Trump. On Monday, Trump expressed his frustration, saying he was “not happy about what’s going on,” and accused Russia of “bombing like crazy.” That same day, Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih held funerals for 20 people—including nine children—killed in a Russian missile strike last Friday.
In his evening video address, Zelensky said he had been briefed by Ukraine’s top commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, on the situation along the front lines, including the presence of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
Zelensky praised the efforts of the 225th Assault Regiment operating in Belgorod: “Well done, guys! I’m proud of each and every one who is fighting for Ukraine!”
He offered no additional operational details but confirmed for the first time Ukraine’s active troop presence in Belgorod. Previously, on March 18, he had only hinted at such activity. When asked about Russian claims that Ukrainian troops had failed to enter the western part of Belgorod, he replied, “There is an operation there.”
Russia stated that it had repelled attempts by Ukrainian forces to advance toward the villages of Demidovka and Prilesye. However, Russian military bloggers reported active combat within Demidovka, just two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
On March 21, the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Ukrainian forces had recently advanced in Belgorod. The ISW noted that Russian military bloggers claimed Ukrainian troops were consolidating their positions near Demidovka and Prilesye, though these reports were not independently confirmed.
In recent days, Russian military bloggers have suggested that Ukrainian forces are now withdrawing from the Demidovka area. ISW analysts told the BBC that as of Monday, Ukrainian forces were still controlling approximately 12 square kilometers in Belgorod and about 60 square kilometers in Kursk.
While Ukraine’s operations in Belgorod appear limited in scale, the campaign in Kursk has been more extensive. At one point, Ukrainian forces reportedly captured multiple villages, including the town of Sudzha.
Zelensky and his military leadership argue that these incursions force Russia to shift troops away from Donetsk, where Russian forces have made slow but steady gains in recent months.
There is also speculation that Kyiv may be positioning itself to use these occupied Russian territories as leverage in potential peace negotiations—particularly those being encouraged by the United States—by offering to exchange them for Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
