Russia

Background reviewed 2026-10-23 · Background as of 2026-10

Background

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the war has increasingly reached Russian territory. Border regions such as Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk have experienced shelling and cross-border fighting, and long-range drones have struck oil refineries, airfields and other facilities deep inside Russia.

In August 2024 Ukrainian forces crossed into the Kursk region and held territory there for several months, the first foreign ground incursion into Russia since the Second World War. Russia has also faced separate security incidents, including the 2023 armed mutiny of the Wagner group and a mass shooting at a concert hall near Moscow in 2024.

This page covers events reported inside Russia. Events in Ukraine, including areas under Russian control, appear on the Ukraine page.

History

The Russian Federation is the largest successor state of the Soviet Union. In the 1990s and 2000s it fought two wars in Chechnya, in the North Caucasus, and the region remained a source of insurgent violence for years afterwards. In 2008 Russia fought a short war with Georgia over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Relations with Ukraine and Western states deteriorated sharply after 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and supported armed groups in eastern Ukraine, leading to waves of international sanctions. Since 2022 those sanctions have expanded greatly, and the war has affected Russian border regions directly through shelling, drone strikes and cross-border raids.

Main parties

Russian Armed Forces and security services — Responsible for air defence and border security; also conduct the war in Ukraine.
Armed Forces of Ukraine — Conduct long-range drone operations and, in 2024–2025, ground operations in the Kursk region.

Key dates

1994-12 — First Chechen war begins.
1999-08 — Second Chechen war begins.
2022-02-24 — Russia launches a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
2023-06-23 — The Wagner private military group stages a brief armed mutiny and advances towards Moscow before standing down the next day.
2024-03-22 — A mass shooting and fire at Crocus City Hall near Moscow causes mass casualties.
2024-08-06 — Ukrainian forces cross into the Kursk region.
2025-04 — Russia says it has regained control of the Kursk region; Ukraine disputes parts of the claim.

Humanitarian situation

Residents of border regions have been evacuated at various times, particularly from parts of Kursk and Belgorod regions in 2024. Independent reporting from inside Russia is restricted, which limits how quickly and completely incidents can be verified.

How to read reports about Russia

Official Russian statements often report drones as intercepted without describing damage; we map an event only when two independent outlets report damage at a known place.
Claims about who carried out an attack are left to the linked reports and are not shown on the map.

Recent events

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