The Ukrainian Armed Forces Are Thwarting Putin's Plan To Seize The Donetsk Region
- 14.09.2026, 10:57
The Russian army is sinking deeper and deeper into its death throes.
As is well known, the Russian military-political leadership has set a new deadline for its troops: they are required to occupy the Donetsk region by the end of 2026. Moreover, what is critically important for Putin and his inner circle is not merely seizing territory, but also consolidating control over it by the turn of 2026–2027, with the intention of presenting Ukraine with ultimatums in the spring of 2027 that amount to a demand for surrender.
In turn, when analyzing the situation in the combat zone, it is difficult to say that Russia is not only capable of carrying out such tasks but also, in general, of even retaining what it currently controls.
To begin with, here are a couple of figures to help understand the scale of the tasks set for the Russian Armed Forces and the likelihood of their fulfillment.
Over the first 9 months of 2026, the Russian Armed Forces (ROF), across the entire territory of Ukraine and along all sections of the front line spanning approximately 1,400 km, were able to capture a total of 846 km².
In turn, the territory of the Donetsk Oblast controlled by the SOY amounts to 5,097 km². Specifically, the Donetsk Oblast. Specifically, the territory where the highest concentration of defense lines, defensive positions, and fortifications is found. At the same time, key locations such as Lyman and Konstantinovka remain unconquered by the enemy; the Dobropillia and Druzhkivka sectors have not been fully opened up; and the situation regarding Chasiv Yar and Yampil remains unresolved.
On top of everything else, in the Lyman direction, the enemy is facing serious problems across a number of locations—from the sand quarry along Highway 05-13 toward Yampol, to Yampol itself and even Zakytne, but the occupiers’ cries of distress are particularly echoing through the information space from the section between the right bank of the Zherebets River and the left bank of the Nitrus River.
I cannot confirm or deny this information; we are awaiting official reports, but it is impossible not to notice the cries of dissatisfied “Z”-military correspondents and surprised Western OSINT analysts.
Given all of the above, what kind of capture of the Donetsk region by the Russian-occupying forces—with a controlled area of 5,097 km²—can we even talk about in the remaining four months?
Furthermore, an extremely unfavorable situation is developing for the enemy on this bridgehead, partly because on the eastern flank of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk bridgehead, the 11th Army Corps has been reinforced with units from the 1st Army Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “AZOV” led by Denis “Redis” Prokopenko and the 3rd Army Corps of General Andriy Biletsky.
During his speech at the Yalta European Strategy (YES), General Andriy Biletsky noted that the Ukrainian front not only has every chance of holding advantageous defensive lines but also of improving its position in certain sectors of the Donetsk direction, particularly along the belt of fortress cities.
Incidentally, returning to the Liman sector and the quiet buzz surrounding the Zherebets–Nitrus river basin, Andriy Biletsky hinted during his speech that concrete results would be demonstrated in the near future. As I understand it, this was a hint at official coverage of what has been tearing unofficial monitoring channels to shreds for more than a week now.
As expected, against the backdrop of a noticeable setback on the front lines, Russia is escalating economic and civil terror, as well as genocide against the Ukrainian population; however, the point is that this in no way strengthens their position on the battlefield.
The occupiers’ agony in 2026 is exactly what it is.
Alexander Kovalenko, Facebook ,