Ukraine claws back southern territory as Russia’s war enters fifth year

Ukraine made limited territorial gains in December and February, highlighting weaknesses in Russian offensive ability.

Ukraine marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion with territorial gains in the south and improved air defences that kept the lights on in Kyiv, despite two barrages of drones and missiles during the past week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday told the AFP that Ukrainian forces had regained 300 square kilometres (115 square miles) of territory in southern Ukraine, without specifying the time period.

His commander in chief, Oleksandr Syrskii, two days later, said those southern gains were 400sq km (155 square miles), and had come since the end of January.

“You can’t say that we’re losing the war … The question is whether we will win,” Zelenskyy said.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, attributed Kyiv’s successes to the fact that Ukraine persuaded Starlink to disconnect illegal Russian terminals in the theatre, and the fact that the Kremlin itself partly disabled the Telegram messaging service.