Key facts
- Ukrainian forces have liberated 745 square kilometers of Russian-occupied land this year.
- The retaken territory is located across southeastern front lines in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
- President Zelenskiy stated that 26 settlements have been brought back under Kyiv's control.
- Zelenskiy described the operation as precise and executed according to plan.
Ukrainian forces have liberated 745 square kilometers of Russian-occupied land this year, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced, describing the operation as precise and executed according to plan. The retaken territory spans parts of the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions along a roughly 60 km stretch of the front. Zelenskiy credited Kyiv's air-assault forces and other units for the gains. According to a battlefield map by Ukrainian open-source group DeepState, much of the area remains in a grey zone, with some parts still marked as Russian-controlled. Russia has demanded Kyiv cede the rest of the Donetsk region, a demand Ukraine rejects. Analysts note that while Russia's advances have slowed this year, its forces are still advancing in eastern Donetsk.