Syrsky: a turning point in the war is still far off, despite slowdown in Russia’s advance

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky stated that a turning point in the course of the war is still far off, despite the fact that the pace of Russian forces’ advance in the first half of 2026 fell by more than half.

He said this while summing up the results of the first six months of the year.

According to Syrsky, the enemy has not abandoned its plans for the full occupation of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, is seeking to expand its offensive in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, and is also working to create and expand a buffer zone in the northern regions of Ukraine.

“A turning point in the course of the war is still far off. The aggressor has not abandoned its plans for the full occupation of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts,” Syrsky said.

The commander-in-chief noted that the Russian army had attempted to launch a large-scale offensive but failed to achieve its stated objectives, despite having nearly twice the superiority in personnel and equipment. Whereas previously the occupiers had been conducting active offensive operations on 13 operational axes, that number has now been reduced to a maximum of six or seven. The ratio of assault operations by Ukrainian forces to those of the enemy is, according to him, approximately 40 to 60.

Syrsky also reported an increase in the intensity of missile and drone strikes, greater use of guided aerial bombs, and a rise in the number of crimes against civilians.

Summing up the results of the Defense Forces’ work for the first half of the year, the commander-in-chief cited specific figures. Using the Deep Strike system, 697 targets on Russian territory were struck, while the Middle Strike operation hit 7,028 enemy objects. The number of criminal offenses in the troops over the same period decreased by 12%.

Earlier, The Telegraph reported that Ukraine had warned Russia of its readiness to use ballistic missiles if the Kremlin did not agree to end the war along the current front line. The outlet Fokus reported that in May 2026, Ukraine’s Defense Forces liberated and cleared of Russian troops a territory larger in area than what the Russian army had managed to capture during the same period.