Ukrainian forces struck infrastructure targets in Belgorod, Russia, on February 3, cutting power to parts of the border city and prompting reactions from Russian civilians experiencing firsthand what Ukrainian cities have endured for nearly three years.
Videos circulating on social media showed surprised Russian residents confronting the realities of living under aerial threat. "Russian woman from Belgorod finds out bombing isn't fun when you are on the receiving end," read one widely-shared post documenting civilian reactions to the strikes.
The Ukrainian strikes on Belgorod represent the war's continued expansion into Russian territory, bringing home to Russian civilians the consequences of their government's invasion of Ukraine. Belgorod Oblast, which borders Ukraine's Kharkiv region, has increasingly become a legitimate military target due to its role as a logistics hub and staging area for Russian forces attacking Ukrainian cities.
Ukrainian missiles turned off power in parts of the city, creating blackouts that mirror the daily reality for millions of Ukrainians living under relentless Russian infrastructure attacks. The tactical strikes demonstrate Ukraine's expanding capability to reach targets deep inside Russian territory, both militarily and psychologically.
For Ukrainian officials and citizens, the strikes on Belgorod carry complex symbolism. While Ukrainian forces maintain they target only military and dual-use infrastructure—a claim supported by the focus on power facilities that support Russian military operations—the strikes inevitably affect Russian civilians who have largely remained insulated from their government's war of aggression.
Russian social media reactions revealed surprise and dismay that Belgorod residents might face conditions similar to Ukrainian cities. The cognitive dissonance—supporting their government's bombardment of Ukrainian civilians while expressing shock at experiencing similar threats—reflects the information environment inside Russia, where state media has downplayed both the scale of attacks on Ukraine and the war's potential consequences for Russian territory.
In Ukraine, as across nations defending their sovereignty, resilience is not just survival—it's determination to build a better future. Ukrainian military strategy increasingly includes strikes on Russian territory both to degrade military logistics and to impose costs that might influence Russian domestic opinion about the war.
The strikes on Belgorod follow established patterns in modern conflict, where military operations inevitably affect civilian infrastructure, particularly in border regions serving as staging areas for offensive operations. Belgorod Oblast hosts military facilities, supply depots, and transport infrastructure directly supporting Russian forces attacking Ukraine, making it a legitimate theater of operations under international law's self-defense provisions.
Ukrainian officials have consistently emphasized that their forces target military objectives, contrasting this approach with Russia's deliberate campaign to terrorize Ukrainian civilians through systematic attacks on residential areas, hospitals, schools, and energy infrastructure far from frontlines.
The psychological impact on Belgorod residents may prove as significant as the tactical effects. Russian civilians living comfortable lives while supporting—or at minimum accepting—their government's invasion now face a fraction of what Ukrainians have endured daily since February 2022. Whether this experience translates into pressure on Russian leadership to end the war remains uncertain, given the authoritarian control over information and political expression inside Russia.
For Ukrainian forces, the expanding range of strikes into Russian territory reflects both improved military capabilities—including domestically-produced long-range systems—and strategic decisions to impose costs beyond the immediate battlefield. These operations complement defensive efforts along the front lines and ongoing attempts to degrade Russian military logistics and support infrastructure.
