Wednesday Briefing

A Ukrainian military vehicle passing a destroyed Russian border post.Credit…David Guttenfelder for The New York Times

How Ukrainian troops invaded Russia

On Aug. 6, Ukraine launched an audacious — and highly secretive — military offensive, with the aim of upending a war it has for months appeared to be losing. The operation surprised even Kyiv’s closest allies, including the U.S., and has pushed the limits of how Western military equipment would be permitted to be used inside Russian territory.

Ukraine has pushed seven miles into Russia along a 25-mile front and taken dozens of Russian soldiers as prisoners, analysts and Russian officials say. The governor of Russia’s Kursk region said on Monday that Ukraine controls 28 towns and villages there. More than 132,000 people have been evacuated from nearby areas, Russian officials said.

For Russia, it was a shocking moment that called into question the unwritten social contract that has largely accompanied President Vladimir Putin’s 30-month campaign: that most Russians could get on with their normal lives even as he waged war.

Analysis: This offensive is a major gamble for Ukraine. If its troops can hold territory, they could stretch the capacity of Russian soldiers, deliver embarrassment for Putin and get a bargaining chip for any peace negotiations. But if Russia manages to push back, Ukrainian military leaders could be blamed for giving the Russians an opening to gain more ground.

On the ground: Andrew E. Kramer, our Kyiv bureau chief, spoke to Ukrainians living in villages near the border with Russia. He told The Headlines: “One Ukrainian woman who had been evacuated from a border village was saying that it was time now for the Russians to feel what war is like.”