How Ukrainian forces managed to retake 200 km2 from the Russian army in a few days

A significant push by Ukrainian forces appears to be unfolding in the Zaporijjia region in southeastern Ukraine. According to calculations by AFP based on data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Kiev’s troops managed to regain 201 square kilometers from Russian forces between Wednesday, February 11, and Sunday, February 15.

This recapture of territory marks an unprecedented event since the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in June 2023. The area retaken, amidst slow Russian advances, nearly matches Moscow’s conquest in December (244 square kilometers), as analyzed by AFP through ISW data. However, the recent Ukrainian advances are described as “localized tactical counterattacks” by the American research center.

ISW began tracking information on these “limited and localized counterattacks” on February 9, with movements near the border between the Ukrainian regions of Zaporijjia and Dnipropetrovsk in the southeast of the country. Russian military bloggers initially spoke of a Ukrainian “counteroffensive,” but both Russian and Ukrainian sources later referred to these actions as “limited in scope and extent.”

These localized advances by Kiev’s forces seem to have led to the recapture of “several small villages along the Yanchur and Haichur rivers,” as outlined by ISW. Military analyst Konstantin Mashovets, cited by the research center, mentions the retaking of Ternuvate and Kosivtseve, northwest of Houliaïpole, and the crossing of the Haichur River and the liberation of Dobropillia in the Zaporijjia region.