'Putin Has Lost His Winter Offensive' As Ukraine Recaptures 460 Kms In 2026

The worst of winter is beginning to end in Ukraine and it is now apparent that Putin's so-called winter offensive not only failed, but that Ukraine has actually advanced, primarily in the country's south. 

The implication is that the Russian military is a spent force. It can continue to field troops, but their ability to achieve significant gains is now being called into question. JL

New Voice of Ukraine reports:

Ukrainian Defense Forces have recaptured 460 square kilometers of territory since the beginning of 2026. In February 2026 — for the first time since the Kursk offensive operation — Ukrainian Defense Forces regained control over more territory than the enemy managed to capture. “Effective active operations” are currently continuing in the Oleksandrivkai and Huliaypole sectors. "Putin lost his winter offensive. Now the Russians will try spring offensives, but they will lose again; many soldiers will die in vain.”

Ukrainian Defense Forces have recaptured 460 square kilometers of territory since the beginning of 2026, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Italy’s Corriere Della Sera published on March 3.

“Quite recently you spoke about 300 square kilometers that Ukraine recaptured in a few weeks. How do you assess the military situation on the ground?” the journalist asked Zelenskyy.

The president replied that since the start of the year Ukraine has reclaimed 460 square kilometers.

“Putin lost his winter offensive… Now the Russians will try spring offensives, but I think they will lose again; many soldiers will die in vain,” Zelenskyy said.

 

On March 2, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that in February 2026 — for the first time since the Kursk offensive operation — Ukrainian Defense Forces regained control over more territory than the enemy managed to capture. “Effective active operations” are currently continuing in the Oleksandrivkai and Huliaypole sectors.

 

On Feb. 19, Southern Defense Forces spokesman Vladyslav Voloshyn said the Armed Forces are reducing the gray zone in the south and preventing Russian invasion forces from advancing deeper into Ukrainian territory, adding that the enemy’s claims of capturing Krynychne in eastern Zaporizhzhya Oblast do not correspond to reality.

On Feb. 20, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian troops, as part of counterattack assault actions, liberated 300 square kilometers of territory in the south of the country. He did not specify the exact period over which this territory was liberated.

On Feb. 22, the Air Assault Forces reported an operation in the Oleksandrivka sector.

The main tasks facing the grouping’s units are to disrupt the enemy’s plans for further advance into the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhya oblasts, to defeat the enemy troop grouping and to push it beyond the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine’s Air Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.

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Ukraine reports offensive gains on Oleksandrivsk front

On Feb. 23, Syrskyi noted that in the Oleksandrivka sector — at the junction of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts — Ukrainian defenders have regained control over 400 square kilometers of territory and eight settlements since late January.