Decimus reports in Daily Kos:
Ukraine recaptured Ukraine recaptured 201 square kilometres of territory from Russia in five days last week – its biggest gain in 2.5 years – according to data. Ukraine took advantage of a recent shutdown of Russian forces’ access to Starlink. The recaptured land is concentrated mainly around 80 kilometres east of the city of Zaporizhzhia. The counterattacks pushed Russian forces from over a dozen settlements and disrupted the timeline for an expected Russian Orikhiv-Zaporizhzhia offensive. This has given Ukraine the opportunity to reset and harden its defenses in that sector.
The Huliaipole-Pokrovs’ke (Zaporizhia oblast) Front. During their so-called Winter 2026-26 Winter offensive, Russia has gone all in on the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad(Dontesk oblast) and the Huliaipole-Pokrovs’ke (Zaporizhia oblast) fronts hoping to break Ukraine’s defensive line somewhere.
While Ukraine was busy holding them off at Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad, the Russians loaded up the double-barrel and aimed it at Huliaipole, one of the few sections of the entire battle trace where the Ukrainians were relatively light on fortifications. At some point this past Summer, Russia even pulled some units from Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad to pour into the Huliaipole attack. The news of one thunderstruck Ukrainian Territorial Guard unit retreating in disorder leaving behind still logged in command communication equipment, etc., made for banner head lines:
Russians capture Ukrainian battalion command post in Huliaipole with laptops still running
Ukraine was definitely on its back foot with the Russians pressing hard, having finally forced several crossings on both the Haichur and Huliaipole rivers which the Ukrainians had counted on as defensive strong points. In December 2025, it looked for all the world like the Russians were going to swallow Huliaipole whole, bypass the Ukrainian fortifications to the West and race the rest of the 60 miles from Huliaipole and lay waste to Zaporizhia city, the capital of Zaporizhia oblast and home to an estimated 713,000. The Ukrainians quickly performed several of their now-well-practiced tactical retrogrades(some say “retreat”) from several villages onto their more hardened defensive lines, hunkered down and waited for reinforcements. Live today, fight another day:
Ukraine retreats from five towns in Zaporizhzhia as Russia pounds positions with 400 artillery strikes daily (MAP)
And as always the alarm bells started ringing, hair pulling and gnashing of teeth, and accusations of incompetence flew at the high Ukrainian command. General Syrskyi just kept calm and commanded his troops. First he sent in the redoubtable young commander Denys “Redis” Prokopenko and his 1st Azov Corps ... the guys who erased the Russian salient in Dobropiliya(Donetsk Oblast) to the other Dobropiliya near Huliaipole in Zaporizhia to lock down that sector … in order to prevent the Russians from moving northeasterly to threaten the E-50 highway which is one of the major Ukrainian logistical lines between Zaporizhia oblast, Dnipro oblast and Pokrovsk. Check!!. As always, 1st Azov locked it down.
Then more veteran Ukrainian units surged into the Huliaipole area to join the embattled 102nd and 106th Territorial National Guards … Colonel Valentyn Manko and his 225th Separate Assault, Colonel Bohdan Shevchuk and his 141st Mechanized Brigade, Maj. Vladyslav Tyupa and his 48th Assault Battalion as well as other detached units.
Despite heavy Russian attacks and sustained pressure, Ukrainian units have not only managed to stabilize the front but they have now turned the tables on the Russians and are pushing the Russians back in the area. General Syrskyi himself, in a relatively understated announcement indicated that the Ukrainians are carrying out counter-attack operations in the area:
Defense Forces are actively conducting assault operations in the Oleksandrivka direction and in the Huliaipole area - Syrskyi
The general’s statement seems to understate the seriousness and importance of this advance as he, himself, is currently based in the area and supervising the operations:
Ukrainian forces conduct assault operations on Oleksandrivka axis, near Huliaipole – Syrskyi
The general is working in the area where combat missions are being carried out on the southeastern front. Syrskyi visited a number of command posts of brigades and regiments taking part in active combat operations in the Oleksandrivka sector and near Huliaipole.
He held working meetings with the commander of the Air Assault Forces and with commanders of air assault and assault units.
Ukraine: Army Recaptures 201 Sq Km in Zaporizhia Region in 5 Days
Ukraine recaptured 201 square kilometres of territory from Russia in five days last week – its biggest gain in 2.5 years – according to AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War. Experts from the institute said Ukraine likely took advantage of a recent shutdown of Russian forces’ access to Starlink.
The recaptured area is almost equivalent to the Russian gains for the entire month of December and is the most land retaken by Kyiv's forces in such a short period since a June 2023 counter-offensive.
The recaptured land is concentrated mainly around 80 kilometres east of the city of Zaporizhzhia, in an area where Russian troops have made significant progress since the summer of 2025
More here:
Russia spent two months advancing in Zaporizhzhia Oblast — Ukraine clawed back up to 9.5 km in a week
Counterattacks pushed Russian forces from over a dozen settlements and disrupted the timeline for a hypothetical Orikhiv-Zaporizhzhia operation, though Mashovets cautions Ukraine lacks the forces for anything beyond tactical stabilization.
Whether this latest development is a temporary situation or not(as Mashovets cautions above), to my mind, at the very least it provides Ukraine with an opportunity to reset and harden its defensive lines in the Huliaipole area which was not very strong. Best to do so now before the next Russian Spring Offensive comes
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