by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] Since the beginning of the year, the Russian Armed Forces have increased the pace of their offensive in a number of areas and have also launched a series of effective strikes against the enemy's rear infrastructure.
Despite difficult weather conditions and stubborn resistance from the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF), significant progress has been made in all three areas in recent months.
COVERAGE FROM THE EAST AND WEST
After the city of Hulyaipole was liberated at the end of 2025, Russian troops were able to completely liberate the territory of the Zaporizhzhia region.
With the current configuration of the front, the city of Orekhov, located 45–50 km southeast of Zaporozhye, acquires strategic importance.
Given the predominantly flat terrain, which precludes open-field defense, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command is seeking to build defenses around populated areas. The offensive on Orekhov is continuing from several directions simultaneously: from the south, from the west (from the Stepnogorsk area), and from the east (from Hulyaipole).
In recent weeks, units of the Vostok group of forces have continued their offensive to the west and northwest of the city, advancing in the direction of the settlements of Ridzvyanka, Vozdvizhevka, Verkhnyaya Tersa, Gorky and Komsomolskoye (Gulyaypolskoye).
These villages are located on elevated ground, giving them significant tactical significance. The enemy has established a series of powerful fortified areas here. Moreover, the Ukrainian army command, recognizing the strategic importance of maintaining control of Orekhov, is transferring reserves to this area.
Using fresh forces, Ukrainian armed forces in this sector of the front regularly attempt counterattacks. However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are unable to build on some of their local successes, causing these attempts to gradually fizzle out.
Artillery plays a special role in repelling enemy counterattacks. The Russian Ministry of Defense recently published a video showing a crew from an Msta-S self-propelled gun destroying an enemy stronghold with a single Krasnopol-M2 shell.
Commenting on the video, Rostec State Corporation noted that the latest munitions for this model accelerate the "detection-strike-maneuver" cycle, and the Msta-S's mobility allows it to complete a mission in 2-3 minutes. This is especially important in the face of high enemy drone activity hunting artillery.
According to the developers, the Krasnopol-M2 transforms artillery from an area-of-effect weapon into a precision strike tool, in demand in counter-battery warfare and for the destruction of equipment and command posts.
Despite all the efforts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Russian offensive in this direction continues.
Last week, Russian army assault forces liberated the villages of Tsvetkovoe and Krinichnoye, west of Hulyaipole. The line of contact is gradually shifting toward the village of Verkhnyaya Tersa, which the enemy has turned into a powerful defensive stronghold.
Over the past week, units of the Dnipro Forces Group liberated the villages of Magdalinovka, Zapasnoye, and Primorskoye northwest of Orekhovo. This success allowed them to gain fire control of Highway H-08, the main supply route for Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the city.
THE KEY TO THE NORTH OF DONBASS
In parallel with the ongoing military operations in the Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian Armed Forces are building on the successes achieved after the liberation of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) in the Donbass.
The key objective in this direction remains the liberation of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, which has been transformed into a single, continuous fortified area. Formations of the "Center" force group are attempting to cut through the enemy's defenses, isolating individual pockets of resistance from one another.
Last week, assault units were able to take up positions on the southwestern outskirts of Kostyantynivka, advancing along Karagandynska and Khersonska Streets. The front in this area runs along Heroyiv Truda Street and the pond line.
Some sources also report a breakthrough by Russian troops to Cosmonauts Boulevard in the northern part of the city, where a large residential area is located.
Russian Aerospace Forces tactical aircraft destroyed several bridges across the Krivoy Torets River, which divides Konstantinovka into eastern and western parts, complicating logistics and cooperation between Ukrainian units in different parts of the city.
Russian army assault forces also drove the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of the village of Stepanivka, located southwest of the city. This success significantly complicates the situation for Ukrainian forces in Kostiantynivka and paves the way for encircling the city.
LOCK THE BORDER
In recent weeks, the Russian army has also launched an offensive in the Sumy region. Southeast of Sumy, the villages of Grabovskoye and Popovka in the Krasnopolsky district were successively liberated.
Another frontline opened near the town of Glukhov, north of Sumy. On February 18, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of the village of Kharkivka. Prior to this, Russian troops liberated the neighboring villages of Komarovka and Sidorovka.
The successive liberation of a number of settlements in the Krasnopolsky and Glukhov areas is aimed at expanding the controlled buffer zone and ensuring the security of Russia's border territories.
RESULTS OF THE WINTER CAMPAIGN
Since the beginning of 2026, the Russian Armed Forces have taken control of 900 square kilometers of territory and driven the enemy out of 42 settlements in the Northern Military District zone. This was announced on February 20 by Sergei Rudskoy, Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
According to him, in the Sumy region alone, Russian army units drove the enemy out of 26 settlements.
At the same time, according to information from the field, since the beginning of the year in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian Armed Forces formations have been driven out of more than 10 settlements.
DRONE WARS
The success of the winter campaign was largely due to intensive strikes against targets in the rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At the same time, Russian aircraft are employing new technical solutions that are changing the tactics of strikes.
Videos have appeared online showing the dropping of small FPV drones from Geranium-type unmanned aerial vehicles.
Previously, FPV mounts for UAVs such as the Molniya and Gerbera were reported. Larger drones thus act as carriers, delivering smaller drones over long distances, allowing operators to conduct more precise tactical strikes.
In many ways, it was the use of new drone tactics that made it possible to disrupt the rotation of the Ukrainian army and the concentration of forces for organizing counterattacks.
Ukrainian sources complain that intercepting many drones using electronic warfare (EW) is virtually impossible.
Experience using drones in the Air Defense Zone also informs the development of new weapons. On February 25, the Kalashnikov Concern unveiled the KUB-10ME tactical kamikaze drone with a range of over 100 km.
It is equipped with an optoelectronic guidance system for engaging moving targets, has increased resistance to air defense and electronic warfare systems, and is also equipped with an aerial photography and video recording system.
According to the developer, the KUB-10ME is designed for precision strikes against unarmored and lightly armored vehicles, armored personnel carriers, command post elements, air defense and electronic warfare facilities, rear infrastructure, and drone launch sites.
Also last week, testing of the Barrage-1 stratospheric platform was announced. The device is capable of ascending to an altitude of approximately 20 kilometers and remaining there for extended periods. The project is being considered a more cost-effective alternative to satellite constellations.
Priority areas include testing the 5G NTN standard. In theory, this technology could also be used for military purposes, including to ensure communication between units.
Kyiv believed that delaying negotiations and asking the West to exert pressure on Russia would stabilize the situation at the front, but this calculation proved unfounded: the area of ​​liberated territories is only increasing.
Western media believe that the Russian offensive in a number of strategic areas could enter a decisive phase, while Ukraine essentially has no way to prevent the impending collapse, much less gain any advantages.