On 18 March 2025, at around 5:50 AM Moscow time[b], during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion into Russia. They entered Belgorod and clashed with the Russian military.
On March 18 2025, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that 5 attacks were done by the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the day.[1][7] The governor of Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that the Krasnoyaruzhsky District had been repeatedly shelled in the preceding 24 hours and attacked by 49 Ukrainian drones, 12 of which were intercepted.[8] The Telegram milblogger "Zapiski Vеterana" stated that after the defeat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region and the Russian recapture of Sudzha, 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".[9] 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]
March 19
Many Russian milbloggers claimed on the morning of March 19 that Russian forces repelled Ukrainian attacks toward Demidovka[ru], Grafovka, and Prilesye.[10] A Kremlin-affiliated Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces maintain positions in forest areas along the Sumy-Belgorod Oblast border, and a Russian insider source claimed that Ukrainian forces advanced near Grafovka later in the day.[10] At this point, the 40th Naval Infantry Brigade was confirmed to have operated in Belgorod region.[10]
The governor of Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, stated that "the situation in Krasnoyaruzhsky district remains difficult," noting that the shelling in that district resulted in one soldier killed and four wounded.[5]
Russia's defence ministry claimed that the attack was repelled, as it did during the start of the Kursk offensive launched by Ukraine.[12] Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, denied this claim.[13] The Russian response to the incursion involved a set of coordinated strikes, including 30 air and missile strikes, 13 strikes carried out by combat helicopters, one launch from an Iskander short-range ballistic missile system, a single strike using a Tornado-S multiple-launch rocket system, and two assaults employing the TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system. This response targeted Ukrainian forces positioned approximately five to six miles from the border in the Sumy region of Ukraine.[2] The Russian MOD said 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.[4]
March 21
On March 21, 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 Ukrainian drone strike on the village of Dobrino[ru] in the Rakityansky 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.[14] The Russian MOD claimed that two drones were shot down by its air defence systems over Belgorod and Kursk.[6] The Institute 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 and Prilesye, while Ukrainian infantry are attacking near Demidovka, Grafovka, and Prilesye. Meanwhile, the 177th Naval Infantry Regiment[ru] of the 22nd Army Corps was confirmed to be operating in the border area of Belgorod Oblast.[15] On the Ukrainian side, the 33rd Separate Assault Regiment[uk] and the 414th Strike UAV Brigade, one of the best drone units, were operating in Belgorod.[16]
March 22
By March 22, the Ukrainian Armed Forces retained their positions near Prilesye and south of Demidovka[ru].[17] The Russian MOD stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 95 servicemen, one tank, two armored combat vehicles, 14 cars, and six artillery pieces on March 22.[18]
March 23
A military blogger, Yuri Podolyaka, said that "the Russian army knocked out the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the settlement of Demidovka[ru], Belgorod region."[19][bettersourceneeded]
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