🇺🇦🇷🇺 UKRAINE REVERSES RUSSIAN GAINS AS MOSCOW’S SOUTHERN OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES Ukraine’s southern front is showing signs of a significant shift. According to a battlefield assessment, Ukrainian forces have regained more territory than they have lost in this sector during 2026, reversing important Russian advances from the previous year. Russia is still attacking, but its main offensive is increasingly concentrated along a roughly 30-kilometre front stretching from Ternuvate toward Huliaipole. Moscow has committed substantial forces to this axis, including the 35th, 36th and 5th Armies, alongside the 68th Army Corps. Despite that concentration, progress remains limited, with Russian troops relying heavily on small-unit infiltration to penetrate Ukrainian positions and threaten the Orikhiv–Novomykolaivka road. Further west, the Russian offensive toward Orikhiv appears to have lost momentum as Ukrainian forces consolidate their defensive positions. The most consequential developments, however, are taking place along the flanks. South of Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian troops have reportedly pushed Russian forces back from positions north of Stepnohirsk. Farther east, Ukrainian operations have challenged Russia’s northern flank near Huliaipole, with advances toward Velyka Novosilka. The assessment also describes Ukrainian forces regaining positions along the Mokri Yali River, consolidating around Komar and establishing control on both banks. These gains would help restore parts of the defensive network compromised during Russia’s 2025 offensive. That matters because Russian advances in this area had threatened to open additional approaches toward Pokrovske, Novomykolaivka and eastern Zaporizhzhia, potentially creating longer-term pressure toward Dnipro and Pavlohrad. According to the assessment, Ukrainian counteroperations have substantially reduced those threats. Russia retains considerable forces in the region and continues offensive operations, so the situation should not be mistaken for a complete Russian withdrawal or a confirmed collapse of its southern front. Nevertheless, the reported territorial changes suggest that Ukrainian forces have done more than merely stop Moscow’s advance. They have begun recovering ground, disrupting Russian offensive plans and rebuilding defensive depth across a strategically important sector. The southern battlefield is no longer defined solely by how far Russia can advance, but increasingly by how much territory Ukraine can recover and hold.