Zelenskiy Reports Heavy Russian Losses as Ukraine Mounts Counteroffensive in Donetsk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Ukrainian forces are inflicting significant losses on Russian troops amid a counteroffensive in the eastern Donetsk region — the center of the ongoing war now spanning more than three and a half years. His remarks sharply contrasted with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent claim that Moscow’s forces have seized the initiative across all fronts.

In his nightly address, Zelenskiy shared details from an hour-long conversation with top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, focusing on what he called the “Dobropillia operation,” a critical counterattack north of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub. The Ukrainian president described “heavy enemy casualties” as Kyiv’s troops pressed to slow Russia’s advance westward through Donetsk.

While acknowledging “difficult” conditions in several sectors, Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces continue to hold defensive lines across multiple fronts, including Kupiansk in the northeast — a town nearly leveled after months of Russian bombardment — and Novopavlivka in southern Zaporizhzhia, where he cited “active defensive actions showing good results.”

Putin, speaking a day earlier to military leaders near St. Petersburg, asserted that Russia had reclaimed nearly 5,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in 2025 and insisted Ukrainian forces were retreating “in all directions.” Russia’s Defense Ministry later reported capturing the village of Novohryhorivka in Zaporizhzhia, part of a steady stream of daily claims of territorial gains.

Meanwhile, regional officials said Russian strikes on Kherson killed three civilians, while drone attacks in Sumy, near the Russian border, claimed three more lives.

Both sides continue to issue conflicting battlefield reports, and as Reuters noted, these claims remain unverified independently.