A Ukrainian regiment has released a video showing its operations in Russia’s Belgorod region, just one day after President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed for the first time that Ukrainian troops have been active in the area in an effort to protect cities near the border.
The footage, published by Ukraine’s 225th Independent Assault Regiment, allegedly shows the destruction of two bridges in the villages of Grafovka and Nadezhevka, located in Belgorod. CNN has verified that the locations shown in the video match those claims.
“Drone operations and clearing of the area followed,” the regiment said in a Telegram post, confirming its presence on the ground in Russian territory.
According to the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrainian forces launched limited attacks in the northwestern region of Belgorod on March 18, targeting areas just across the border from Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense at the time said it had repelled the Ukrainian assaults in the area.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops remain in parts of the neighboring Russian region of Kursk, eight months after a cross-border incursion. However, Moscow has managed to retake much of the territory initially lost.
In his regular nightly address on Monday, Zelensky said Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, had delivered a report on the front-line situation, which included Ukrainian troop activity in both the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
“We continue active operations in the enemy’s border areas, and this is fully justified. The war must return to its place of origin,” Zelensky stated. “Our main goal remains the same: to protect our land and communities in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions from Russian occupiers,” he added.
Zelensky also praised the 225th Assault Regiment for its efforts. The unit was among the first to enter the Kursk region in August 2024, when Ukraine launched a surprise cross-border offensive. Although Russian forces have since regained much of the territory, Ukrainian troops still hold parts of the region.
On Monday, Zelensky reiterated Kyiv’s long-standing position that, despite recent Russian advances, the operation was successful in drawing enemy forces away from other critical front-line areas—particularly Donetsk.
“Thanks to the entire Kursk operation, we have managed to reduce pressure on other sectors of the front line, especially in Donetsk,” he said.
Last month, Zelensky had indirectly referred to “certain measures” taken by Ukrainian forces in Russian territory “a little further south of the Kursk region,” implicitly suggesting a presence in Belgorod.
At the same time, Russian military bloggers reported clashes between Russian and Ukrainian troops in the Belgorod region.
On Sunday, the Russian government claimed its forces had taken control of the village of Basivka in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region—across from Kursk—and were continuing attacks on several Ukrainian-held settlements.
On Tuesday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense announced it had retaken one of the last Ukrainian-held settlements in the Kursk region, months after Kyiv’s surprise incursion.
“The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to defeat Ukrainian formations in the Kursk region. Units of the Northern Group of Forces liberated the settlement of Guyevo during offensive operations,” the ministry said in a statement.
In its Monday update, the ISW reported that Russian forces had recently made gains in Kursk. Its map shows that Ukrainian troops now hold only small portions of the region.
