Ukraine’s military chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has announced that Russia’s major spring and summer offensives this year have utterly failed to achieve their objectives. He highlighted that Russian forces are currently out-firing Ukraine’s artillery by a two-to-one margin on the front lines.
“It’s clear that the Russian spring and summer campaign has been decisively thwarted,” Syrskyi stated during a press briefing.
Despite these failures, Russia has managed to make minor, incremental gains along various sections of the front. This slow advance is largely due to the widespread use of reconnaissance and attack drones, which has prevented the rapid breakthroughs observed in 2022.
However, Ukraine emphasizes that these small territorial shifts come at an immense human cost. While both warring nations rarely disclose casualty figures, Western intelligence sources estimate that over a million individuals have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since the conflict began.
Russia’s “Thousand Cuts” Tactic
Syrskyi detailed that the active front line now stretches an astounding 1,250 kilometers (777 miles), with an estimated 712,000 Russian personnel engaged in the intense fighting across Ukraine.
He specifically noted the failure of Russia’s strategic plans, which included establishing a “buffer zone” in the northern and northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions, seizing the city of Pokrovsk, and fully capturing the entire Donetsk region.
For Russia, securing all of Donetsk remains a primary objective, despite currently controlling just over 70% of the territory.
Syrskyi revealed that since the summer began, Russian forces have employed a tactic he termed “a thousand cuts,” characterized by numerous small-scale infantry assaults.
“This involves deploying a multitude of small assault groups, typically 4-6 soldiers each, who utilize the terrain, ravines, and forested areas to penetrate as deeply as possible into our territory simultaneously,” he explained.
Referring to a Russian breakthrough in August near the Donetsk town of Dobropillia, Syrskyi proudly stated that Ukraine successfully encircled Russian forces along the Kazenyi Torets river, effectively creating a “trap.”
Donald Trump’s Shifting Stance on the War
The commander further disclosed that over the past two months, Ukraine has successfully targeted 85 Russian military or military-industrial sites within Russian territory, including critical air bases, supply depots, and factories.
Interestingly, U.S. President Donald Trump recently reversed his previous stance on the war. He moved from suggesting Kyiv had limited options to proclaiming that Ukraine could reclaim all lost territory, which accounts for approximately 20% of its total landmass.
However, Trump did not accompany this revised outlook with significant new aid for Ukraine, instead largely delegating the responsibility for achieving these objectives to European allies.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to claim advancements in Ukraine, urging Kyiv to consider peace negotiations without delay. Ukraine, however, has consistently dismissed Russia’s proposed terms, viewing them as nothing less than a demand for surrender.