Main points
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine launched an offensive in the South with the aim of liberating the Dnipropetrovsk region and stopping the advance of the occupiers towards Zaporizhia.
- The second goal of the offensive has already been achieved: the invaders have been pushed back across the Gaichur River, and their attempts to advance threaten the encirclement of the group.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine named the goal of the offensive in the South / Collage of Channel 24, photo of the General Staff, DeepState map
The Armed Forces of Ukraine launched an offensive in the South a few days ago. These offensive actions have several goals.
One of them is the liberation of the Dnipropetrovsk region. This was stated by the commander of the First Separate Assault Regiment named after Dmytro Kotsiubayl, Hero of Ukraine Dmytro Filatov (“Perun”), in an interview with BBC News Ukraine.
What is the purpose of the offensive in the South?
The liberation of the Dnipropetrovsk region is one of the goals of the offensive in the South, but Filatov refused to say how close the Armed Forces of Ukraine have come to this goal.
At the same time, as of February 25, DeepState maps indicated that 5-6 settlements remained in the Dnipropetrovsk region in close proximity to the administrative border.
The second goal, which has already been achieved, is to stop the advance of the occupiers towards Zaporizhia and push them back across the Gaichur River, which flows from north to south parallel to the Pokrovske – Hulyaipole highway.
At the end of 2025, having captured almost all of Gulyaipol, Russia was able to cross the Gaichur and begin moving towards Orekhov.
Filatov noted that this settlement is located on high ground, so it has greater strategic importance for the defense of Zaporizhia than Hulyaipole, which is “in a hole” and is a “strategically disadvantageous defense node.”
And although Russia tried to push through in the area of the village of Zaliznychne, this threatened to encircle the entire group.
At the same time, “Perun” urged not to have high expectations from Ukrainian counterattacks. Currently, the army is not faced with the task of breaking deep into the occupied territory.
This is not a counteroffensive, these are offensive actions aimed primarily at stabilizing the front line, stopping the enemy's advance, improving the tactical position of our troops, and encouraging the enemy to use the reserves he has accumulated, not according to his plan, but according to ours. That's all,
– the commander emphasized.
What is happening at the front?
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According to ISW, Russia continues to attack in several directions, but has not made any confirmed breakthroughs. In particular, intense fighting continues in the northern Kharkiv region and in the Donetsk region. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are making tactical gains, particularly in the Kostyantynivka area.
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Political scientist Andriy Tkachuk told Channel 24 that Russia has two priorities for the spring – to put pressure on the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration and to attack Zaporizhia. At the same time, the successful actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the South have slowed down the pace of the Russian offensive.
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At the same time, according to the commander of the National Guard, Oleksandr Pivnenko, Russia's tactics have radically changed. In particular, the occupiers have begun to use less military equipment, because column assaults are visible to the SOU, and therefore are no longer effective.