This timeline of the Russo-Ukrainian war covers the period from 1 January to 31 May 2025.
January 2025 1 January
A drone attack in Kyiv killed two people and injured at least six others, and also damaged the main building of the National Bank of Ukraine.
Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed that Russia had lost some 38,000 soldiers in Kursk, while 700 others were captured and over 1,000 pieces of equipment destroyed.
2 January One person was killed in a Russian airstrike on Stepnohirsk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Geo-located footage confirmed Russia's control over the village of Vozdvyzhenka in Donetsk Oblast.
A Ukrainian strike against Ivanovskoye in Kursk Oblast reportedly killed seven Russian servicemen.
Ukrainian authorities announced an investigation following reports that hundreds of soldiers had defected from the 155th Mechanized Brigade during training in France.
3 January One person was killed in a Russian drone strike in Kyiv Oblast. One person was killed in a missile attack on Chernihiv.
Russian captain Konstantin Nagayko was critically wounded in an explosion in Ivanovo Oblast, Russia according to the HUR. He was a battery commander in the 112th Missile Brigade, 1st Tank Army of the Western Military District of Russia, the unit accused of killing 59 civilians in the 2023 Hroza missile attack in Kharkiv Oblast.
A Ukrainian military observer said that Russian forces captured the village of , west of Stari Terny, and the Kurakhove Power Station. Geo-located footage showed that Russian forces captured the village of Vovkove, south of Pokrovsk.
4 January A drone attack caused a two-hour suspension of operations at Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg. The drones attacked the seaport at Ust-Luga, damaging a window. Four drones were downed over Leningrad Oblast with "electronic warfare and firearms" according to the local governor.
Alexander Martemyanov, a Russian freelance reporter, was killed by a Ukrainian drone while returning from reporting in Horlivka, Donetsk Oblast. Four other media workers were also injured according to RIA Novosti.
The Russian defense ministry claimed to have shot down eight US-made ATACMS missiles and 72 UAVs launched by Ukraine in Russian territory, with some drones being shot down in Leningrad and Kursk Oblasts.
Russian forces claimed to have captured the village of Vodiane Druhe, east of Pokrovsk.
The 155th Mechanized brigade was effectively disbanded, with remaining elements assigned to other brigades.
5 January
Ukrainian forces launched a renewed offensive "in several directions" in Kursk Oblast. Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces repulsed attacks in two of these directions. The Russian Defense ministry said that at 09:00 Moscow Time, Ukrainian forces started attacking from their bases in Sudzha towards the villages of Berdin and Bolshoye Soldatskoye consisting of two tanks, one counter-obstacle vehicle, and 12 armoured fighting vehicles. Later Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces captured the settlements of Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, Martynovka, and Mikhaylovka.
Geo-located footage showed that Russian forces likely captured the villages of Svyrydonivka and Tymofiivka near Pokrovsk and the village of Petropavlivka near Stari Terny.
The HUR issued a report claiming that the Ukrainian Kraken Unit killed the chief of staff of the Storm Ossetia Battalion, Sergei Melnikov, and his driver using drones along the Vasylivka-Tokmak highway in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed 3,800 North Korean soldiers have been killed or wounded out of the original 12,000 sent to fight Ukrainian forces.
6 January One person was killed in a Russian drone strike on a bus in Kherson.
Russian forces claimed to have taken Kurakhove. Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces took the village of Russkoye Porechnoye in Kursk Oblast.
Ukraine claimed to have destroyed or damaged two Russian Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile systems and one OSA anti-aircraft vehicle using sea-launched aerial drones in occupied Kherson Oblast.
The SBU said it had discovered a Russian plot to bomb a military installation in Kyiv Oblast by hiring a 16-year-old boy to deliver explosives, leading to the arrest of four suspects.
7 January Ukrainian forces conducted a "precision strike" on the headquarters of the Russian 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade in Belaya, Kursk Oblast.
In Kursk Oblast, Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces recaptured the hamlets of , and Berdin, and the villages of Russkoye Porechnoye, Makhnovka and .
8 January
Thirteen people were killed in a Russian airstrike on an industrial facility in Zaporizhzhia.
Ukrainian forces attacked the Kristal oil depot in Engels, Saratov Oblast, supplying fuel to the Engels-2 air base and Russian strategic bombers based there. Approximately 800,000 tons of jet fuel was reportedly destroyed by the fire.
Ukrainian special forces destroyed various Russian equipment in Donetsk Oblast with drones, including a Pole-21 Electronic Warfare System, which is used to disrupt GPS signals. Ukrainian forces also claimed to have bombed a command post of the Russian 8th Combined Arms Army in Khartsyzk.
Two paratroopers from the Ukrainian 79th Separate Air Assault Brigade reportedly captured 14 Russian soldiers after throwing grenades at their dugout.
9 January Ukrainian officials confirmed that Russian forces had established a bridgehead across the Oskil River in Kharkiv Oblast near Dvorichna.
In Kursk Oblast, geo-located footage showed that Russian forces captured the hamlets of and . Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces captured the village of .
At the Ramstein meeting, Norway pledged a military aid package of 2 billion euros for Ukraine over 2025. Canada pledged $330 million in military aid, while the US announced an aid package of $500 million. The UK announced it, and other allies, would send 30,000 fpv drones to Ukraine. Germany would deliver 6 IRIS-T launchers as well.
Zelenskyy claimed North Korea lost 4,000 soldiers killed and wounded.
10 January Russian-installed authorities in Donetsk Oblast claimed that three people were killed in Ukrainian airstrikes in Donetsk city and Svitlodarsk. The Ukrainian military claimed it had carried out a strike on a command post of the Russian 3rd Army Corps in Svitlodarsk.
A Ukrainian drone and Neptune missile attack hit a Russian ammunition depot in the village of Chaltyr, Rostov Oblast, according to the HUR. Other drone attacks were reported in Leningrad Oblast, with one strike causing a fire at an industrial area in Gatchina that burned 1,900 square meters.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said that the Polish-trained Ukrainian Legion had received 1,300 applications from Ukrainians living abroad wanting to join, including women.
Russian forces claimed to have captured the villages of , east of Pokrovsk and Yasenove, southwest of Pokrovsk.
11 January Russian officials claimed that three people were injured after a drone crashed into an apartment in Kotovsk, Tambov Oblast.
Zelenskyy claimed that two North Korean soldiers had been captured in Kursk Oblast.
Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian Port of Novorossiysk, causing a massive fire.
An oil-processing plant in Tatarstan, Russia was struck by Ukrainian drones, prompting evacuations.
Syrskyi ordered the transfer of additional Ukrainian Air Force personnel to ground infantry units, reportedly numbering 5,000 soldiers.
A Ukrainian military observer claimed that Russian forces took the village of Hryhorivka, north of Chasiv Yar. Russian forces captured the village of Neskuchne, south of Velyka Novosilka.
On 24 September 2026, President Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had transferred two North Korean soldiers, who had been captured, to South Korean custody. They were captured by Ukrainian forces during the Kursk campaign on 11 January 2025.
12 January Russian forces claimed to have taken the villages of Yantarne, ten kilometers southwest of Kurakhove, along the Oskil River, and , south of Pokrovsk.
Russian-installed authorities in Kherson Oblast claimed that one person was killed and three others were injured in Ukrainian drone strikes.
A Russian source claimed that Russian forces crossed the international border into Sumy Oblast and advanced south of the village of .
13 January Geo-located footage showed that Russian forces had captured the village of Pishchane, south of Pokrovsk, and severed two highways leading east (to Kostiantynivka) and west (to Mezhova) out of Pokrovsk.
Russia accused Ukraine of using drones to inflict minor damage on infrastructure of the TurkStream gas pipeline near Gaikodzor, Krasnodar Krai.
Ukraine received its first RCH 155 from Germany.
South Korean intelligence claimed that 300 North Koreans had been killed and 2,700 wounded in Kursk Oblast.
Lithuania announced 4,500 drones would be sent to Ukraine.
Reuters, citing unnamed industry sources, reported that the Pokrovs'ke coal mine had halted production due to the approaching front line. The mine was Ukraine's sole coking coal-producing facility, from which 3.5 million tons of coke were produced in 2023.
An unidentified North Korean surface to air missile system similar to the Russian Tor missile system was destroyed by a Russian drone in what appeared to be a friendly fire incident.
14 January
Drones attacked the town of Aleksin in Tula Oblast. Ten explosions were heard. Other attacks occurred in Bryansk Oblast, Belgorod Oblast and Crimea.
Ukrainian drones attacked the Kristal oil depot in Engels after a fire that burnt for five days was extinguished. However the regional governor said only that an "industrial facility" had been hit.
Drones struck the Kazanorgsintez industrial facility in Kazan, Tatarstan, causing a fire.
The Russian defense ministry claimed that Russian forces had captured Terny in Donetsk Oblast.
Ukrainian drones struck a distillery in the village of Novaya Lyada, Tambov Oblast. Local officials claimed a drone hit a tree and exploded.
15 January Russia launched another missile attack on energy infrastructure across Ukraine, causing power grid shutdowns. Two critical infrastructure facilities in Lviv Oblast were struck.
Lukoil's oil refinery in Volgograd caught fire. Local officials blamed the fire on "technical issues". However locals reported an explosion before the fire and speculated "something fell onto the plant".
Zelenskyy announced a prisoner exchange with Russia that resulted in the release of 25 Ukrainians for the same number of Russian POWs.
The Liskinskaya oil depot in Liski, Voronezh Oblast caught fire after a drone attack, according to Alexander Gusev, the local governor.
A Russian air defense captain was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for the shooting-down of a Russian Mi-8 helicopter that was mistaken for a Ukrainian drone over Crimea in October 2023 that killed three people.
16 January Russian media said that drones targeted a gunpowder factory in Kuz'mino-Gat village, Tambov Oblast. Air defence was activated and locals reported "aircraft-type UAVs". The Ukrainian military claimed it launched a drone strike on the Liskinskaya oil depot in Voronezh Oblast and destroyed radar equipment belonging to an S-400 air defense system in Belgorod Oblast.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine received a 155-mm DITA self-propelled artillery howitzer from the Czech Republic.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Kyiv and announced £4.5 billion (€5.34 billion) in aid, including 150 artillery barrels made in the UK and 15 additional Gravehawk air defence systems.
The United States declassified that it had provided substantial support for Ukraine's drone industry, beginning in late 2022 including $1.5 billion in support for drone production sent in September 2024.
17 January
Four people were killed in a Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih.