Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has authorized a 40-day operation designed to pressure Russia into ending its full-scale invasion. The campaign, led by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), represents Kyiv’s latest attempt to shift the trajectory of a conflict that has ground on for more than three years.

The announcement came on June 25, following what Zelenskyy described as a briefing on strategic military operations. Among those present was Maj. Gen. Yevhen Khmara, part of the SBU’s leadership team overseeing the initiative.

What we know about the operation

The operation is classified, and Zelenskyy offered no public details about specific tactics, targets, or benchmarks for success. What he did say is that the objective is to influence what he called the “aggressor state” and compel it toward negotiations.

The SBU’s role as the lead agency is also worth parsing. Ukraine’s security service has been responsible for some of the war’s most consequential covert operations, including long-range drone strikes deep inside Russian territory. Placing the SBU at the helm rather than the armed forces’ general staff signals that this campaign leans toward intelligence and unconventional warfare rather than conventional front-line offensives.

The backdrop: escalating drone warfare

The announcement came amid a period of intensified Ukrainian drone operations targeting Russian infrastructure, including oil refineries, hitting energy facilities, military installations, and logistics networks hundreds of kilometers from the front lines.