Ukrainian Armed Forces officers: midstrikes have not changed the situation at the front

Frontline soldiers do not feel any seizure of initiative that has been claimed in connection with midstrikes — drone strikes at a depth of 50–250 km from the front line aimed at destroying enemy logistics.

This is reported by Ukrainska Pravda, citing Ukrainian Armed Forces officers.

Analyst at the Come Back Alive foundation Mykola Bieleskov considers statements about seizing the initiative “premature and exaggerated.” According to him, it is currently more accurate to say only that “the situation has stopped deteriorating,” rather than speak of a turning point at the front.

Officers from different directions give similar assessments. A serviceman from one of the corps stated:

“I don’t know where we seized the initiative… On the Sloviansk direction, the Russian offensive is not stopping… Kostiantynivka is being held by extremely exhausted brigades. All that can be done is that drone operators chase the Russians around, and that’s it.”

A serviceman from the Zaporizhzhia direction said that “there’s no smell of initiative in Hulyaipole.” An officer on the Kostiantynivka direction assessed the effect of the midstrikes as follows: “No effect whatsoever, none.” A scout from the air assault forces added: “We are paratroopers — all we can feel is Russian ‘Molniya’ drones and FPVs.”

A source on the Kramatorsk and Sloviansk directions also stated:

“We are conducting active defense with elements of counteroffensive actions, but we have not seized the initiative… The enemy determines where, when, and with what forces to attack.”

According to Ukrainska Pravda, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are currently conducting offensive operations only on the Oleksandrivka and Lyman directions. On all other sections of the front — from Sumy Oblast to Kherson Oblast — Ukrainian forces are on the defensive, counterattacking in places and “putting out fires.”

The second wave of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ offensive on the Oleksandrivka direction has so far not yielded the desired result. After advancing approximately 10 kilometers, Ukrainian paratroopers and assault troops encountered “enormous resistance” from Russian forces and slowed their activity. According to the publication, this is precisely why Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky, following one of his most recent visits to this section, announced that he had “adjusted the plans” of Ukrainian forces.

Earlier, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom and former Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny urged people not to think that Russia had already lost the war.