From Breakthroughs To "Seesaw Battles": How The Ukrainian Armed Forces Are Forcing Russia To Lose Captured Territories
- 6.09.2026, 12:45
The latest success was the "Charter" offensive near Kupyansk.
On September 6, 2022, the Ukrainian Defense Forces launched the Slobozhanshchyna counteroffensive, which liberated approximately 10,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory from Russian forces. Prior to this, the Russians had demonstrated a “gesture of goodwill” and withdrawn from Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy. What kind of positional “see-saw” have the Ukrainian Armed Forces inflicted on their enemies over the four years of war?
On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the offensive in the Kharkiv sector "Focus" has compiled examples of counteroffensive operations by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) in which they succeeded in recapturing occupied territories from the Russian Armed Forces, halting a breakthrough of the front line, or pushing back the front line so that the occupiers suffered losses and were forced to seek reinforcements. The latest success of the Defense Forces was an advance between Dvoretskoye and Zapadnoye near Kupyansk: soldiers from the 23rd Assault Regiment of the 2nd Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Charter” shared footage of the actual operation.
Russia’s War Against Ukraine — Changes in the Front Line from 2022 to 2026
The analytical portal Texty has created an infographic showing the pace of the Russian Armed Forces’ advance in Ukraine and their casualty rates. Analysts identified a trend: since January 2026, the area of territory occupied by the Russians has not increased, while casualties have risen. As of September 6, 2026, Russian forces are advancing only minimal distances, the article explains: this is indicated by the top line, which runs horizontally.
Furthermore, 2025 showed that the pace of occupation corresponded to the number of enemy assaults: the fewer the assaults, the less territory was occupied, and vice versa. However, in 2026, the trend changed: the number of assaults increased by one and a half times, while advances on the front were three to five times smaller than a year ago.
What “ups and downs” occurred on the front lines from 2022 to 2026
As of the middle of the fifth year of the war, the Russian Armed Forces control a total of 117,000 square kilometers: 44,000 square kilometers since 2014, plus 73,000 square kilometers since 2022, according to an analysis by the DeepState project. Meanwhile, during this time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have recaptured 41,000 square kilometers from the enemy: this is one-third (35%) of what the Russians have occupied to date, and 26% of the total territory occupied by the Russians (158,000 square kilometers).
As DeepState analysts show, units of the Russian Armed Forces continue to infiltrate inconspicuous settlements along the front line. For example, on the night of September 5, it became known that Russian forces had advanced in the areas of Malye Shcherbakov (by 1.6 km, Zaporizhzhia direction), Hulyaypol (1.9 km), and Varvarivka (3 km, Dobropillia direction). Meanwhile, the day before, reports emerged of successful operations by the 2nd Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Charter”: troops liberated the village of Dvorichnoye in the east of Kharkiv Oblast, north of Kupiansk. The area of the liberated territories is approximately 13 square kilometers.
What operations did the Ukrainian Armed Forces carry out from 2022 to 2026, while the area of occupied territory remained at 117,000 square kilometers:
The defense of Kyiv—which lasted from February 24 to April 2, 2022—resulted in the de-occupation of 40,000 square kilometers;
Liberation of Zmeinyi Island—liberated on June 30, 2022; 0.17 square kilometers;
The Slobozhanshchyna Operation—lasted from September 6 to October 2, 2022, 12,000 square kilometers;
Liberation of Kherson—August 29–November 11, 2022, 6,000 square kilometers;
Zaporizhzhia Offensive—June–November 2023, 300–500 square kilometers (later lost);
The Kursk Operation—from August 6, 2024, through spring 2025; the Ukrainian Armed Forces took control of up to 1,250 square kilometers and 100 settlements, then retreated to the Sumy region;
Breakthrough near Dobropillia — from fall 2024 to spring 2025. The Russians managed to break through 15 km deep into the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defenses along the Dobropolye axis, but were then halted and subsequently lost Pokrovsk and Mirnograd;
Regaining control of Kupiansk—fall–winter 2025. Initially, Russian Armed Forces broke through, making their way north of Kupiansk via pipelines and penetrating the central neighborhoods through them. Subsequently, the Special Operations Forces carried out a unique operation and cleared the city, and on December 12, 2025, Zelenskyy took a selfie in front of the monument at the entrance.
The Aleksandrovskaya Counteroffensive—January–August 2026, 745 square kilometers.