[63] In an interview on 13 October 2024, Pavlo Rozlach, the commander of the Ukrainian 80th Air Assault Brigade, said that the unit had begun infiltrating into Kursk Oblast on 4 August with the help of the Special Operations Forces.

A statement by Russian forces on Telegram at around 18:20, claiming that they had pushed the Ukrainians back across the border, and inflicted significant losses through artillery, air strikes, and drones, was later edited by them to imply fighting was ongoing.

[69][70] Putin met with key members of the security establishment including Valery Gerasimov, Alexander Bortnikov, Sergei Shoigu and Andrey Belousov on the Kursk incursion.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian lieutenant, callsign "Alex", claimed that 300 Russian soldiers were captured in the "Kursk People's Republic" during two days, reportedly "conducted by a contingent of unidentified armed formations".

[91] The Russian MOD published a report on the transfer of a military column from Belgorod Oblast to Sudzhansky District, which included 152-mm self-propelled "Msta-S" artillery pieces and combat support vehicles.

[134] Ukraine reportedly attempted to advance in three directions: east from Sudzha toward the village of Belitsa and the neighboring settlement of Giri, north towards Lgov, and northwest towards Korenevo on the road to Rylsk.

[155] Russia claimed that the Ukrainian military destroyed the third and last bridge over the Seym River in Korenevsky District leading to possible logistical strain on over 700 square kilometers of Russian territory.

[157] The Russian interior ministry warned residents of Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod Oblasts against using online dating websites and security cameras, citing concerns of information being gathered by Ukrainian forces.

[176] In Kursk Oblast, Ukrainian forces claimed to have destroyed two pontoon bridges over the Seym River and an Osa air defence system using SDB bombs and HIMARS rockets.

[185] The Russian defense ministry reiterated Alaudinov's statements of 10 settlements having been retaken, and specified that these were Apanasovka, Byakhovo, Vishnevka, Viktorovka, Vnezapnoye, Gordeevka, Krasnooktyabrsky, Obukhovka, Snagost, and 10-y Oktyabr.

"[232] Former President and deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, issued a statement that the incursion made it so "This [war] is no longer just an operation to retake our official territories and punish the Nazis.

[233] On 11 August, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova stated "The Kyiv regime is continuing its terrorist activity with the sole purpose of intimidating the peaceful population of Russia" and that the incursion "makes no sense from a military point of view.

"[234][better source needed] On 16 August, Putin's aide Nikolai Patrushev claimed, without providing evidence, that the invasion of Kursk Oblast was "planned with the participation of NATO and Western special services",[235] calling the offensive "a desperate act, driven by the impending collapse of the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv.

Only residents of the town were allowed to freely enter, while non-resident employees were required to obtain an entry permit issued by local authorities or from the power plant in the case of its workers.

[240] On 22 August, the FSB also filed charges against CNN reporter Nick Paton Walsh and Ukrainian journalists Olesia Borovyk and Diana Butsko for illegal entry into Russia.

[242] On 27 September, the FSB charged Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporters Kathryn Diss and Fletcher Yeung with illegal entry into Russia, along with Romanian HotNews journalist Mircea Barba.

[260][263] Chair of the Bundestag's Defence Committee Marcus Faber told German media in the first few days of the incursion that Ukraine was free to use "all materials" provided, including Leopard 2 deliveries.

"[63] NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the Ukrainian incursion "legitimate" and within Kyiv's right to self-defense, adding that the bloc did not receive prior information about the operation and did not play a role in it.

According to Rob Lee, a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Eurasia program, this offensive has further stretched Ukraine's forces, reducing their reserves to counter Russian advances towards Pokrovsk, Chasiv Yar, and Toretsk.

[277] On 10 August, Ukraine said it had recorded the lowest number of "combat engagements" on its territory since 10 June, which some observers considered as a sign that the offensive had brought relief to Ukrainian forces.

Finally, on the strategic level, to slow Russia's offensive momentum, to shift the narrative and counter Russian talking points about their inevitable victory, and also to boost Ukrainan morale.

[281] Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said that the Ukrainian incursion into Russia was "the first on this scale with conventional forces, rather than proxies [or] 'resistance' groups."

[282] Nico Lange, former chief of staff at the German Federal Ministry of Defence, stated that the incursion was likely "to establish a negotiating position and provide relief on other front lines" and that it is unlikely that Ukrainian forces would hold territory in Kursk for long periods of time.

According to Michael Kofman, the transfer of manpower and resources from Donbas to Kursk has now put the strategic and critical city of Pokrovsk in range of Russian artillery, whilst Russia has gained ground in important Ukrainian towns such as Niu-York and Toretsk.

[286][288] If Ukraine loses Pokrovsk when it is already struggling to maintain its hold on Kursk, Kofman concludes the incursion to be strategically disastrous as the loss of the city will have profound downstream effects for the overall organization of defense across Donetsk.

[51] By 20 November 2024, three months in the incursion, Marina Miron, a defence researcher at King's College London, declared the entire operation to be a costly, strategic failure for Ukraine.

She stated that whilst it offered short-term tactical brilliance, it came at the cost of long-term strategic catastrophe, as not only did it fail to gain any political leverage or draw the Russian armed forces away from the Donbas, but it led to multiple Ukrainian units being tied down in Kursk at a time where the UAF is suffering acute manpower shortage; contributing to Russia gaining more than 1000 sq km between 1 and 3 November in Eastern Ukraine and allowing Russia to breach Kupiansk.

[304] In November, protests were held in Kursk city by evacuees from Bolshesoldatsky and Sudzhansky districts complaining about the failure to provide compensation and housing and demanding that the situation be recognized as a war.

[231] Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that there were "no direct or indirect negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on the safety of civilian critical infrastructure facilities" and that after the assault on Kursk Oblast, Putin ruled out the possibility of such talks.

[18] President Zelensky also claimed that North Korean infantry and Russian paratroopers had lost a battalion near Makhnovka on 3 to 4 January 2025, with analyst Andrew Perpetua visually confirming 408 casualties in one day.