A surprise counteroffensive, attacks on major infrastructure, the capture of Russian prisoners of war, and "one of the largest" drone strikes ever aimed at Moscow.
During the past two weeks, Kyiv has sent a message to Russia and the world – that a Russian victory in Ukraine is not inevitable.
Many wondered if the surprise incursion on August 6 by Ukrainian forces into Russia's Kursk region was simply an audacious, opportunistic raid.
Neither Russia nor the West saw it coming.
But two weeks on, Kyiv claims its forces have captured 92 settlements, advanced into an area of more than 1,250 square kilometres, and destroyed or damaged three bridges over the Seym River that are critical supply lines for Russian troops defending Kursk.
Then on Wednesday, local time, another surprise.
Russia's Ministry of Defence said its air defences had shot down 45 Ukrainian drones, including 11 above the capital.
Moscow's airports, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky, limited flights for four hours, Russia's aviation watchdog said.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said some of the drones were destroyed over Podolsk, about 38 kilometres south of the Kremlin.
"This is one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow using drones ever," Cr Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app.
"The layered defence of Moscow that was created made it possible to successfully repel all the attacks from the enemy UAVs."
It is fighting talk from the mayor, but this is another embarrassing development for Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin.
"It shows Moscow that there are vulnerabilities," emeritus professor of war studies at King's College London Sir Lawrence Freedman told the ABC.
"It reminds Muscovites that there's a war going on, they're not immune from the effects, and something may happen with one of these drones."
Professor Freedman said Kyiv's brash new strategy, starting with the Kursk incursion, marks "a turning point in the war".
"The prevailing narrative has been that Ukraine really is on the back foot, [but] they saw an opportunity in, in weak Russian defensive lines, they exploited it, and the Russians really seem to have been caught napping," he said.
"Now we're a couple of weeks into this, and the Ukrainian position is still improving, and they're not being pushed back yet.
"I think it tells us first that the Russians are stretched, the command structures aren't working very well, and that they have put so much effort into the occupation of Ukraine that they haven't left an awful lot in reserves."
Professor Freedman added that Ukraine could be trying to shift the fighting into Russia to "relieve pressure on some of their defences".
Russia continues to advance in eastern Ukraine
Russian officials have played down the success of the Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region and repeatedly said the offensive has been halted.
And while the attention has been on Kursk, Russia's military has continued to advance in eastern Ukraine, where it controls about 18 per cent of the territory.
On Monday, Ukrainian authorities ordered the evacuation of families from Pokrovsk, a key city in the Donbas region that Russia was closing in on.
Pokrovsk has been strategically important for Ukraine as a main defensive stronghold and a key logistical hub for Kyiv's troops on the eastern front.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in the region was getting "difficult".
'More operations planned'
Despite Russia's gains in the east, retired Lieutenant General of the US Army in Europe, Ben Hodges, told the ABC he believes that what is happening in Kursk will force Moscow to change course.
"Eventually, I think this will force the Russians to have to move forces from the east around to deal with Kursk," Lieutenant General Hodges said.
He said that would be difficult because there are "rivalries and hatred" between Russia's military, security forces, and border forces, as well as logistical challenges in moving personnel and military hardware to Kursk.
"The Ukrainians are not going to sit around and wait for the Russians to get their act together," Lieutenant General Hodges said.
"I don't know how long the Ukrainians plan to stay [in Russia] because they are correctly not advertising this, but my sense is... this is probably not a standalone operation.
"We have underestimated Ukraine from the beginning, we have overestimated Russia from the beginning, and I think that Ukraine has more operations planned either to develop this further or to complement it."
He said that if Russia took time to send more reinforcements to Kursk, Ukrainian forces would move into more territory.
"That will enable them to bring forward more weapons systems that can reach further into Russia and hit these airfields that have been the source of so much trouble for Ukrainian civilians," Lieutenant General Hodges said.
"Since the United States, the UK, and Germany are not allowing Ukraine to use the longest-range weapons, the Ukrainians are basically adding more range to their own weapons by going deeper into Russia."
Mr Zelenskyy has given little information in his nightly televised addresses about Ukraine's plans.
On Wednesday night he said Kyiv was strengthening forces on the front near Pokrovsk and that the attack launched in the Kursk region was continuing.
He added that his forces controlled some areas in Kursk but gave no further details.
