President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on August 13 that Ukrainian forces have recaptured 745 square kilometers in the Oleksandrivka sector since January 2026, marking one of the largest territorial gains by Kyiv’s military in over a year of fighting.
“This offensive operation of ours was carried out with precision, exactly as planned,” Zelensky said in his daily address, detailing the results of a months-long counteroffensive in the southeastern Donetsk region. He said Russian losses in the sector amounted to at least 9,550 troops killed and more than 6,600 wounded.
The announcement was broadly corroborated by DeepState, a well-regarded Ukrainian open-source monitoring group that tracks frontline changes using satellite imagery and geolocated footage. The gains are concentrated along the Oleksandrivka axis, a strategically important corridor south of Pokrovsk that connects Ukrainian-held territory to occupied zones in the Zaporizhzhia direction.
The counteroffensive, which quietly began in January and intensified through the spring and summer, represents a shift in Ukrainian strategy from defensive operations to limited offensive pushes designed to reclaim key terrain before a potential Russian autumn assault. Military analysts had noted gradual Ukrainian advances in the area for weeks before the official announcement.
Ukraine’s forces relied heavily on FPV drone swarms, long-range artillery, and newly fielded electronic warfare units to suppress Russian defensive positions. The Oleksandrivka sector had been a focal point of fighting since late 2024, when Russian forces captured several villages in the area before stalling amid heavy losses and logistical difficulties.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, assessed in its August 12 campaign update that the Ukrainian operations showcased Kyiv’s “ability to make coordinated advances against fortified Russian positions.” ISW analysts noted that the gains, while significant, still leave the majority of occupied territory in Russian hands.
Zelensky used the announcement to press Western allies for continued military support, particularly interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense system. He said earlier on August 13 that just 10 percent of US Patriot interceptor stocks would be sufficient to destroy “all” Russian ballistic missiles fired at Ukraine, while five percent would be enough to survive the winter.
The counteroffensive news comes as Russia simultaneously escalates its aerial campaign, launching 138 Shahed drones and multiple ballistic missiles at Ukrainian cities overnight on August 11-12, killing eight people and injuring 57 across eight regions.
Sources: The Guardian, Kyiv Independent, ISW
discussion