'Symbolic gains': Ukrainian official says Russia unlikely to seize all Donbas
Russian forces are suffering heavy losses in Donetsk region (photo: Getty Images)
Russian forces are trying to capture the Donetsk region, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine are disrupting enemy plans and conducting successful counterattacks, Deputy Head of Presidential Office, General Pavlo Palisa, said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
"Russians have repeatedly publicly stated their demands to Ukraine regarding various concessions, while combining all this with threats, some timelines, deadlines, and so on," Palisa said.
According to him, historically, Russians always resort to such negotiating tactics at a moment when they themselves feel that not everything is going well.
"If we take purely military component, then in the near future they will not be able to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk region. For example, if we take statistics across the entire front line over the past year, this is on average about 120 killed and wounded enemy per occupied square kilometer of our territory," the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office added.
He stressed that the main strike direction – last year it was Pokrovsk direction – they had about 160 killed and wounded per square kilometer of captured territory.
It is also worth separately highlighting statistics for the first quarter of 2026 within the Donetsk region – starting partly from the Lyman direction and to the south – up to Oleksandrivsk direction.
As of now, per one occupied square kilometer in the Donetsk region, they have 316 killed and wounded. That is, comparing the main strike directions last year and today, there is an increase of almost two times. And their average losses along the line of contact in Donbas have increased almost three times.
"So you can draw your own conclusions about what kind of success they have in the Donetsk direction and at what cost. Their advance is minimal. Tactical successes in several areas are very symbolic. There are no operational ones at all. So they are actually detached from reality," Palisa concluded.
At the same time, he noted that, of course, the situation at the front is currently difficult, and all listed results are, first of all, the merit of Ukrainian soldiers.
Russian offensive in the Donetsk region
At the end of March, Russian forces launched a spring-summer offensive in the Donetsk region. The main strike was directed at Lyman's direction, which opens the way to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
According to representatives of the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during the spring-summer offensive in the Donetsk region Russian forces will try to capture Kostiantynivka, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk.
However, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are successfully repelling enemy attacks. In particular, marines of the 37th separate marine brigade defeated the largest assault since the beginning of the year in the area of Oleksandrivka.
