Donetsk region, Ukraine– Ukraine‘s Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskii, revealed on Monday that Ukrainian forces reclaimed 62 square kilometers of territory last month, contradicting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent claim to be advancing “in all directions”.
Syrskii stated that the month in which the occupiers hoped for breakthroughs became the month with comparatively the smallest territorial gains by the enemy in recent times.
The gains were primarily in Donetsk, Ukraine’s eastern region, where fighting has been intense for most of the war. Russian forces had been gunning for the towns of Dobropillia and Pokrovsk but lost ground in both directions.
According to Syrskii, towards Dobropillia, Russia captured 13.5 square kilometers but lost 25.5 square kilometers. In the Pokrovsk direction, their gain was 5 square kilometers, while Ukrainian troops regained control over 26 square kilometers.
Syrskii added that Ukrainian troops gained another 4 square kilometers on other sectors of the front. Across the entire front, Russia made estimated gains of 499 square kilometers in August, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
However, its losses contradict Putin’s recent claim in Beijing that all Russian troops in Ukraine were “advancing successfully, at different speeds”.
“Despite spreading propaganda…the Russians suffered blows,” said Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation.
Unable to win the war with ground assaults, Russia has sought to break Ukraine’s morale with long-range drone attacks on its rear cities. During the week of September 4-10, Russia unleashed a total of 1,811 drones and 63 missiles.
Ukraine said it downed 87 percent of the drones and half the missiles. Russia escalated this tactic overnight on Sunday with the largest such attack of the war, when 810 drones and decoys targeted Kyiv, along with 13 missiles.
Ukrainian Premier Yulia Svyrydenko said the cabinet offices had been struck for the first time, and photographed herself in front of the smoldering ruin.
“For the first time, the government building – its roof and upper floors – has been damaged due to a hostile attack,” she wrote on Telegram. Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed to have targeted its biggest-ever drone attack against drone manufacturing sites in and around Kyiv.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians that nearly half the drones in the Kyiv strike were decoys sent “to complicate the situation” in air defence, and called the shooting down of several ballistic missiles “a significant achievement”.
Ukraine’s military intelligence estimated that Russian drone production, already at 90 a day, aims to deliver strike packages of more than 1,000 drones and missiles to overwhelm Ukrainian defences.
On September 4, Zelenskyy referred cryptically to “a certain format” of air defence that he and French President Emmanuel Macron had discussed for the first time.
“If we receive a positive signal from the United States, since technically much in this format of air defence depends on them – if we receive that positive signal, we will be glad to share this information,” Zelenskyy said.
A Ukrainian think tank proposed an air defence plan whereby 120 European aircraft would patrol Ukraine’s western skies, allowing its air force to focus more effectively on defensive and offensive operations in the contested eastern airspace.
Ukraine has been developing long-range strike capabilities as a means of leverage to bring Russia to the negotiating table.
On Friday, Ukrainian drones hit the Ryazan refinery, one of Russia’s four largest, putting its primary processing unit out of action. Ukraine also claimed to have struck two S-300 air defence vehicles in the Kaluga region. On Sunday, drones struck an oil pumping station in Russia’s Bryansk region, near Naitopovichi.
Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said drones also struck and severely damaged Transneft’s Vtorovo oil pumping station in Penkino, in the Vladimir region.
Two days later, Ukraine’s military intelligence said two oil and two gas pipelines had been damaged, also in the Penkino area. Ukraine has been conducting many of these strikes with domestically built drones, which carry small payloads of less than 100kg.
Ukraine’s allies have entered into joint production of drones. Denmark said Fire Point would build a rocket fuel plant for the Flamingo near the Danish Air Force base at Skrydstrup.
UK Defence Secretary John Healy said he would fund the production of “thousands of long-range drones” in the UK for Ukraine.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he was allocating $350m to launch a new deep strike initiative by purchasing long-range drones from Ukrainian companies and giving them to Ukraine’s armed forces.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate, with both sides engaging in intense military operations.
Recently, Russia launched a massive drone attack on Ukraine, firing over 800 drones and decoys, the largest such attack in the war. Ukraine’s air defense systems responded swiftly, shooting down and neutralizing 747 drones and 4 missiles.
The use of drones has become a critical component of the conflict, with both sides employing them to target military installations, infrastructure, and civilian areas.
In a previous incident, Russia fired 145 drones at Ukraine, which Kyiv’s air defenses managed to down 62 of. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones targeted Moscow, temporarily shutting down three of the Russian capital’s airports and causing damage to residential areas.
The conflict has significant international implications, with global leaders closely monitoring the situation.
Following Donald Trump’s election as US President, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Trump’s signals are “positive,” adding that his unpredictability makes it hard to foresee the impact on the Ukraine conflict. Trump has indicated he could end the fighting between Russia and Ukraine within hours and has suggested direct talks with Putin.
The ongoing conflict has resulted in significant humanitarian concerns, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence. The Ukrainian government has warned that without US aid, Kyiv would lose the conflict, emphasizing the need for continued international support.
Both sides are adapting their military strategies, with a focus on drone warfare and long-range strikes.
Ukraine has developed domestic drone capabilities, including the Flamingo cruise missile, and is working on new air defense formats to counter Russian attacks. The situation remains fluid, with the conflict’s trajectory uncertain.