Russia and Ukraine have claimed battlefield gains in their four-year-war, with Kyiv claiming it pushed back some of Russian troops on the frontline, and Moscow insisting it was making battlefield gains.
Ukrainian military said on Tuesday it has liberated the entire territory of Dnipropetrovsk region. “Three small settlements [in Dnipropetrovsk] remain to be secured and two more to be cleared. Thanks to these active operations in February, we now see a positive trend — more territory has been liberated than lost, Oleksandr Komarenko, head of the Main Operational Directorate of Ukraine’s General Staff told local media. Komarenko claimed Ukrainian forces have liberated over 400 square kilometers of territory in counteroffensive operations against Russia, adding that clearing operation have been launched against Russian troops infiltrating the army’s rear positions. In his words, Russian forces had attempted to push toward Dnipropetrovsk Oblast as part of broader operational objectives. “Their leadership constantly says they want the entire Donbas and a buffer zone,” Komarenko said. “Their goal was to create such a buffer zone in Dnipropetrovsk region — that was their plan,” Komarenko said.
Earlier on February 19, Ukraine’s Souther Defene Forces spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn claimed Ukrainian troops were reducing the “gray zone” in the south and stopping Russian troops from advancing deeper into Ukrainian territory.
Russia has issued a different account of developments along the front line, with Russian President Vladimir Putin asserting that his country’s forces are continuing to advance inside Ukraine.
Speaking Tuesday, Putin said Russian troops had expanded their positions in the eastern industrial area of Donbas. Citing figures referenced during a meeting with the Kremlin-installed leader of the Donetsk Oblast, Denis Pushilin, Putin stated that Ukrainian forces previously controlled roughly a quarter of the region about six months ago but now hold only an estimated 15–17 percent.
If those numbers are accurate, it would indicate that Russian troops currently control around 83–85 percent of the Donetsk region. Moscow considers the area part of the Russian Federation after declaring its annexation in 2022—an action that Ukraine and most of the international community do not recognize.
The Kremlin also said that during a recent phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump, Putin described Russian military operations along the front as “progressing quite successfully.” Russian officials argue that such momentum should encourage Kyiv to enter negotiations aimed at ending the war, though Ukrainian authorities dispute Moscow’s portrayal of the battlefield situation.
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