Ukrainian forces have recaptured 745 sq km (288 sq miles) of Russian-occupied land in a key sector this year, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. “This offensive operation of ours was carried out with precision – exactly as planned.” Ukraine’s president outlined gains broadly in line with assessments from the well-regarded Ukrainian open-source group DeepState. Russia’s battlefield advances have slowed this year across much of the front, analysts say, though Russian forces still threaten cities in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. The Russian military still regularly announces the “capture” of villages, though observers say these are often shortlived flag-raising incursions involving a handful of troops.
“From January to August of this year, our warriors of the airborne assault forces and other units carried out an effective offensive operation in the Oleksandrivskyi sector … Russian losses amounted to at least 9,550 people killed and more than 6,600 people wounded.” Ukraine’s “exchange fund” was also replenished, Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian prisoners of war who can be swapped for Ukrainians held by Russia.
The Oleksandrivskyi sector is a 60km (37-mile) stretch of the front taking in parts of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts where they meet. Zelenskyy said 26 settlements there had been brought back under Kyiv’s control. DeepState, which tracks both sides’ positions on the front, said in its latest assessment that Ukrainian forces had restored control over 19 settlements along the frontline, and pushed back Russian troops in six more settlements. The US-based Institute for the Study of War said in an assessment that Russian online sources were likely using AI-enhanced video footage to support Moscow’s claims of advances.
