Ukraine Recaptures More Than 230 Square Miles of Territory so Far This Year: Military Chief

Ukraine’s armed forces have recaptured more than 230 square miles of territory in 2026, the country’s top military commander has said, following reports that Kyiv is maintaining momentum in its war with Russia.

Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a June 8 post on Telegram that the Ukrainian military had regained almost 40 square miles in the month of May.

“Despite the constant pressure of the enemy, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to steadfastly hold the defense, destroy the occupiers, and deliver effective strikes against the enemy in its operational and strategic depth,” Syrskyi said.

“The situation at the front remains complex and dynamic. The enemy does not stop trying to advance in the east and south of Ukraine, and the number of combat clashes has increased significantly,” he said, adding that the most intensive battles continue in around Pokrovsk, Oleksandrivka, and Huliaipole.

In the initial months after Russia’s invasion of eastern Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv recaptured territory in a series of counterstrikes. But a major Ukrainian counter-offensive failed in ⁠2023, ​and Russia had since been making gains.

Slower Gains for Russia

Independent groups that map battlefield data have reported Russia’s total advances as having slowed in recent months.

Data from Black Bird Group shared with Reuters said that Russian forces captured 32 square miles of Ukrainian territory last month, compared to 36 square miles in April, and ​10 square miles in March.

That stands in contrast to the larger gains made over the same period last year, when Moscow’s troops took 207 square miles, 87 square miles, 71 square ​miles, respectively, according to Black Bird Group’s data.

A campaign assessment published by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) published on June 6 said that it had assessed that “Russian forces seized or infiltrated about [15 square miles] in May 2026, but ISW’s calculations, excluding Russia’s infiltration areas, found that Russian forces lost control of about [208 square miles].”

“ISW assessed that Russian forces seized or infiltrated about [22 square miles] in April 2026 but lost control of about [45 square miles],” the group estimates.

European Union defense ministers met on June 8 to discuss, among other matters, continuing support for Ukraine—particularly mobilizing European Peace Facility funds dedicated to military support for Ukraine.

“Ukraine is turning the tide of the war,” Vice President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas in a June 8 post on X.

“And we are helping them, including by advancing the unblocking of [$7.62 billion] through the European Peace Facility.”

Character of War Changing

The ISW said in its May 25 analysis that “the character of the war is shifting in favor of Ukrainian forces, at least for now.”

The think tank stated in its report on Russia’s battlefield performance that Russian forces’ rate of advancement is “plummeting,” while Ukraine is “starting to regain more ground than it is losing for the first time since 2023.”

The report also said that Ukraine has regained an overall drone advantage and has been “conducting a coherent campaign to suppress and destroy Russian air defenses since late 2025, in order to shape the battlefield as part of more sophisticated campaign planning.”

“Ukraine’s success in blunting Russian advances and reversing Russian gains in some sectors of the line, in tandem with Ukraine’s limited reintroduction of elements of tactical mechanized maneuver, may nevertheless mark the beginning of a new phase of the war,” the report reads.

According to a December 2025 war report card from Russia Matters, a project by Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Russian forces control about 20 percent of Ukraine, which includes Crimea and parts of Donbas that Russia had seized prior to the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

Reuters contributed to this report.