Ukrainian Armed Forces Operations To Be Featured In Military Textbooks Around The World Have Been Named

Ukraine has redefined the fundamental principles of warfare.

August 29 marks Defenders of Ukraine Remembrance Day, established in memory of the Battle of Ilovaisk in August 2014. “Focus” reported on battles involving soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which will be included in military textbooks around the world.

The Battle for Kyiv

The Battle for Kyiv raged during the first weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion: from February 24 through April 1–2, 2022. Russian units launched an offensive on the capital from two directions—from Belarus through the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and from the Bryansk Oblast through the Chernihiv and Sumy Oblasts. The Ukrainian Armed Forces units defending the capital included the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade (OMBr) named after the Black Zaporozhians, the 4th Operational Brigade “Rubezh” of the National Guard of Ukraine, the 80th and 95th Mechanized Brigades, the 101st Separate General Staff Guard Brigade, the SBU’s Special Operations Center “A,” units of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), and the 112th and 114th Transport Brigades. The operation to defend Kyiv was commanded by the then-commander of the Ground Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi.

In the first hours of the invasion, the Russians attempted to land troops at the “Antonov” airfield in Hostomel. They were confronted by the 4th Rapid Response Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine—approximately 200 fighters armed with small arms, “Igla” man-portable air defense systems, and ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns. The troops stopped the assault, which consisted of 34 helicopters and 200–300 Russian paratroopers. Nearby, on adjacent defense sectors, Ukrainian troops halted columns of tanks stretching along the roads toward Kyiv and fired artillery at them. One of the decisive stages of the defense was the blowing up of the dam in Demidov on the Irpin River, as well as the battles for Moshchun, Bucha, Irpin, and Makarov.

In late March, the Russian Armed Forces made a “gesture of goodwill” and withdrew from Kyiv, as well as from the Chernihiv and Sumy regions. Thanks to the successful defense of Kyiv, the Kremlin was unable to carry out its plan for a short-term special operation—designed to last just a few days—aimed at overthrowing the Ukrainian government.

Operation “Spider Web”

Operation “Spider Web” took place on June 1, 2025. The special operation was planned and carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and was led at every stage by the then-head of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk. The result of “Spiderweb” was the damage or destruction of approximately 40 Russian bombers at four airfields in various parts of the Russian Federation: “Olenya” (Murmansk Oblast), “Belaya” (Irkutsk Oblast), “Dyagilevo” (Ryazan Oblast), and “Ivanovo” (Ivanovo Oblast). The damaged aircraft included Tu-95MS, Tu-22M3, Tu-160, and A-50 AWACS planes.

The preparatory phase of Operation "Spider Web" lasted 1 year, 6 months, and 9 days. The SBU secretly smuggled a batch of FPV drones equipped with high-explosive fragmentation charges into Russian territory. The drones were hidden under sliding roofs on prefabricated housing units (so-called “pobutovki”). At the appointed time, the buildings were loaded onto trucks and transported along a specific route that passed by Russian military airfields. The active phase took place on August 1, 2025. In the final stage, the roofs of the buildings slid open, and remotely controlled FPV drones flew out from beneath them; these drones used the Russian communications network and were equipped with software incorporating AI elements.

The Russian Federation’s estimated losses amounted to approximately $7 billion, in addition to the loss of aircraft that are no longer in production. Ukraine demonstrated how, without weapons capable of striking at a range of 700 km, it could strike enemy airfields and destroy military aircraft on the ground.

The Kursk Operation

The Kursk Operation began in August 2024. Several units of the Defense Forces participated in the special operation, taking control of approximately 1,300 square kilometers in the Kursk Region of the Russian Federation and capturing the district center of Sudzha, located 10 km from the border.

On August 6, it became known that the Russian Armed Forces’ defensive line had been breached at the border between Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast and Russia’s Kursk Oblast. Information about fighting on Russian territory began circulating online, although preparations had been conducted in complete secrecy: Defense Forces units were informed of the deployment time at the very last moment. During the offensive, individual Ukrainian units advanced toward Rylsk, Lgov, Kurchatov, and Kursk. In addition, the air force struck bridges across the Seim River to block the movement of Russian troops. To rectify the situation, the Russian Armed Forces command dispatched approximately 20,000 DPRK servicemen to the front, who attempted to storm Ukrainian positions. Later, operators from the “Rubicon” center began operating fiber-optic drones there. On March 15, 2025, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported its withdrawal from Sudzha, while Ukrainian units remained on Russian territory for several more weeks, gradually retreating to the Sumy region.

The Kursk Operation was the first instance in which Ukraine extended the war onto Russian territory without a nuclear strike—a threat the Kremlin had constantly made—following, according to the Atlantic Council think tank. Part of the Kursk Oblast may have been discussed during peace negotiations with Russia, where an exchange—for example, for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant—was considered. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that it had managed to capture approximately 900–1,000 Russian soldiers, who were subsequently exchanged for Ukrainian soldiers.

The Kharkiv “Blitzkrieg”

The Kharkiv Offensive (or Slobozhanshchyna Offensive) lasted approximately from September 6 to October 2, 2022. The 92nd Mechanized Brigade, the 80th Airborne Brigade, the 25th Airborne Assault Brigade, the 3rd Tank Brigade, the 113th Transport Brigade, and the KRAKEN special operations unit of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) participated in the fighting. The offensive was commanded by Alexander Syrsky, commander of the “Khortytsia” Joint Forces Operation.

Ukrainian units misled the Russian command by conducting counterattacks on the southern sector of the front, while delivering the main strike in the Kharkiv direction. Within a few days, they succeeded in pushing the occupying forces back from Izyum, Balakliya, and Kupiansk. During their retreat, Russian Armed Forces units left behind a large amount of military equipment and ammunition, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces used in subsequent battles. The enemy was pushed back across the Oskol and Seversky Donets rivers.

As a result, the Ukrainian Defense Forces liberated 12,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory and de-occupied approximately 500 settlements.

The Liberation of Kherson

The operation to liberate Kherson lasted from August through November 11, 2022. Units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine—marines, mechanized brigades, and airborne brigades—took part in the fighting. Ukraine used HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems and long-range artillery with high-precision shells, provided by Western partners, to strike key logistics routes of the Russian Armed Forces. Strikes were carried out against the Antonovsky Bridge and the highway leading to the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, as well as against the pontoons and barges the Russians were using to transport military equipment and personnel. As a result, the bridge was damaged, and the Russian force on the right bank of the Dnieper had its supply lines for resupply completely cut off. In November, the Russian Armed Forces made another “gesture of goodwill”: the enemy withdrew from the right bank of the Kherson region, leaving behind a large amount of military equipment.

The result of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Kherson operation was the liberation of 3,000 square kilometers of the Kherson region and the restoration of control over the only regional center that the Russian Armed Forces had managed to capture during their initial breakthrough in February 2022.

The Liberation of Zmeinyi

The liberation of Zmeinyi refers to a series of special operations in 2022 that led to the expulsion of Russian Armed Forces units from the Ukrainian bridgehead in the Black Sea. The island was under occupation for 126 days and returned to Ukrainian control on June 30, 2022. Special forces units from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), artillery, units of the Navy and Special Operations Forces, and the Air Force participated in the operation.

The battles for Zmeiny Island took place in several stages, and there were also several attempts by Ukrainian Defense Forces units to land on the island. The Russians had deployed air defense and electronic warfare systems on the island and were monitoring the situation along the Ukrainian coast. The first assault on Zmeiny Island took place on May 7, but the Ukrainians retreated. This was followed by systematic artillery and air strikes against Russian military equipment and ships attempting to close in. Prior to that, on April 13, 2022, the missile cruiser *Moskva* was sunk, followed by strikes on landing craft and the tugboat *Vasily Bekh*. The then-head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Kirill Budanov explained that the assault on Zmeiny took place in several stages: first, artillery preparation; then, airstrikes; and finally, follow-up reconnaissance and demining.

Thanks to the success of the Defense Forces, the Russians lost control of the western part of the Black Sea and were deprived of the ability to land troops on the Odessa coast. In addition, Ukraine was able to take advantage of the situation to open a grain corridor, through which Ukrainian grain began to be exported abroad following the conclusion of the grain agreement.

You can support the website Charter97.org

MULTI-CURRENCY ACCOUNT FOR ASSISTANCE:

Bank's name: Bank Millennium S.A.
Address: ul. Stanislawa Zaryna, 2A, 02-593, Warszawa
IBAN: PL97116022020000000216711123
SWIFT: BIGBPLPW
Name of the account holder: Fundacja “KARTA ‘97”
Purpose/title of payment: Donation for statuary aims

You can contact us by the e-mail charter97@gmail.com