Dmytro Zhmailo, a Ukrainian expert and the Executive Director of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, says Kyiv troops managed to stop the first wave of the Russian offensive. Currently, Moscow is trying to fulfill its main objective — the complete capture of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, UNIAN reports.

He notes that the second wave of Russian forces’ so-called summer offensive has just been launched. Although the Russians have had some successes in certain areas, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were able to repel the first wave of the offensive.

Zhmailo explains that the main reason for Russia’s advance near the Kostiantynivka settlement in Donetsk Oblast is the large concentration of Moscow’s units. About 100,000 troops from the overall 700,000-strong Russian grouping are concentrated there. Currently, the Russians are receiving reinforcements for the start of the second wave of the offensive.

However, according to him, the battle for Kostiantynivka has not yet begun. The city’s administration and police are still operating, although there is an ongoing humanitarian crisis with issues in water and electricity supply. Ukrainian troops hold positions in Chasiv Yar and on the outskirts of Toretsk, holding back the Russian occupiers’ rapid advance.

Moscow troops are focusing their most significant efforts along the Pokrovsk–Kostiantynivka highway, trying to “breakthrough” villages to get closer to the city. In the northern part of the region, activity has increased in the Lyman direction, with the prospect of reaching Sviatohirsk and squeezing the non-occupied territories of Donetsk.

Ukraine responds to Russia’s escalation with deep-strike counterattacks. As Russia tries to stretch the front and break Ukrainian defenses, Ukrainian forces are hitting back hard: in June alone, Ukrainian artillery completed 115 fire missions, striking 2,864 targets, says Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.

The priority for June was stabilizing the frontline and holding off Russian offensives in Donetsk and Sumy oblasts, where Moscow has concentrated its main strike forces.

“Unfortunately, the enemy holds a significant advantage in manpower and equipment,” Syrskyi admits.

He notes that Russia has increased its use of drones and missiles by 1.6 times. In response, Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck around 4,000 targets, including inside Russian territory.

“We are forced to seek new tactical and technological solutions,” the general emphasizes.

Key Ukrainian priorities now include developing air defense, expanding drone strike capabilities, modernizing equipment, and reforming mobilization and recruitment.

Amid unstable international support, Ukraine is pursuing alternative arms supply routes, expanding repair capacities, and embracing asymmetric tactics to disrupt Russia’s summer offensive.

Earlier, Euromaidan Press reported that Kyiv started producing 200,000 drones per month, a tenfold increase compared to 2024. 

Today, there is big news from eastern Ukraine.   

Here, as Russians are on the brink of kicking off their multi-front summer offensive, Ukrainians are launching a summer campaign of their own, targeting key Russian military and logistical assets. By using missiles and long-range drones, Ukraine aims to deal as much damage as possible at the most important moment, right before the Russians accumulate enough forces and equipment to overwhelm the Ukrainian army.

Colonel confirmed killed in devastating headquarters strike

In one of the most significant recent operations, Ukrainian forces successfully targeted the headquarters of Russia’s 8th Combined Arms Army in Russian controlled Donetsk city. Using Storm Shadow missiles combined with drones, Ukrainians drained Russian air defenses before wreaking utter destruction on the massive Russian headquarters. 

According to reports by local media and residents, the headquarters building was razed down to the basement, whole groups of killed Russian personnel being carried out continuously. Among those confirmed killed was one of the main targets, Colonel Ruslan Goryachkin, commander of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army, who has absolute control of all Russian forces operating from Velyka Novosilka to Pokrovsk, and is credited with the only significant gains Russians have made since the start of 2024.

His elimination will have a massive effect on Russian preparations and later offensive operations, as the Russians stand before the largest operation they have launched since the start of the invasion over 3 years ago. 

Simultaneously, Ukraine conducted an extensive drone operation in occupied Luhansk, highlighting their multi-layered strike approach. More than 20 drones struck Russian logistics facilities overnight, causing extensive fires throughout the city. Although Russian officials claimed 35 out of 40 drones were intercepted, footage contradicts this, showing massive fires at a critical oil depot and far more than 5 drones striking Russian targets. 

Head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, Andrii Kovalenko, emphasized that Russian logistics in temporarily occupied Luhansk are burning, underscoring Ukraine’s intent to systematically dismantle the infrastructure supporting Russian frontline operations.

Ukraine aims to delay Russian offensive launch

These operations come as Russia gears up for an extensive offensive spanning multiple fronts, from Sumy to Kherson, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia. Recognizing its numerical disadvantage in frontline personnel, Ukraine must rely on precisely dismantling Russian combat capabilities before its offensive can gain momentum. 

By targeting logistics hubs, command centers, and ammunition depots, Ukraine aims to introduce critical delays and attritional losses to Russian preparations. Each delay significantly benefits Ukraine, allowing additional time to fortify defenses and shortening Russia’s viable window for success due to the limited timeframe with favorable weather conditions. 

Moreover, forcing Russia into launching premature assaults with insufficient preparation substantially weakens its operational effectiveness, making those sent on the attack vulnerable to Ukraine’s experienced drone operators and artillery units and unable to breach the defense lines.

Railway sabotages cripple Russian resupply efforts 

Ukraine’s strike campaign also continues to disrupt Russian rail logistics, vital to sustaining offensive operations. As you remember, Ukrainian drone operators have repeatedly hit critical railway supply points in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, significantly hampering Russian resupply efforts. 

Additionally, Ukraine’s cyber specialists temporarily disabled key Russian Railways services in Voronezh, crippling logistics management in the north. Complementing this, Ukrainian security services have coordinated several direct sabotage operations, igniting a freight locomotive in Saratov and blowing up a railway in Voronezh, demonstrating Ukrainian sabotage operations within Russian territory.

Ukrainians have also targeted a key Russian military ammunition depot in Zabaykalsky Krai, near Velikaya Tura, causing large explosions to go off for hours. While Russian officials attempted to downplay the event, eyewitness accounts report dozens of secondary detonations, pointing toward another successful Ukrainian sabotage operation. 

In Rostov oblast, Ukrainian drones targeted the strategically important Atlas depot facility, part of Russia’s state reserve system, responsible for stockpiling and distributing fuel, lubricants, food, and technological equipment essential for sustained combat operations, with satellite data further confirming large-scale fires that raged at the site. 

Overall, Ukraine’s approach lies in offsetting Russia’s numerical advantage by identifying, tracking, and targeting critical Russian military logistical assets. These precise operations maximize damage to enemy capabilities while effectively committing Ukraine’s limited high precision weaponry.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to advance its drone technologies, enhancing long-range capabilities and increasing monthly production rates. This systematic approach allows Ukraine to sustain and amplify pressure, effectively undermine Russian preparations, and critically weaken their ability to launch a coordinated large-scale summer offensive. This means that Ukrainian soldiers can more effectively counter Russian assaults, shifting the battlefield dynamics in Ukraine’s favor.

In our regular frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Russia has activated its summer offensive in Ukraine, relying increasingly on new technologies, the Financial Times reports.

A key element of Russia’s advance is the use of fiber-guided drones, which can avoid detection by electronic warfare by not emitting radio signals.

These drones have proven effective in striking Ukrainian logistics targets 30–40 km behind the frontlines. They’ve destroyed supply trucks and depots on the Kramatorsk–Dobropillia road.

Ukrainian commanders near Siversk have responded by banning daytime vehicle movement, allowing only “gray zone” or nighttime transit.

Military analyst Emil Kastehelmi of Black Bird Group notes that while a Russian breakthrough is unlikely in the near term, Moscow’s pace may accelerate.

“Careful management of reserves is a key factor for Ukraine this summer, where to put them and how to manage them so that emerging crises do not become catastrophes,” he says. 

Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukrainian forces were pushing Russian troops out of Sumy Oblast.

He also emphasized that a lack of Russian battlefield success may encourage US President Donald Trump to apply new sanctions on Moscow, which it tries to avoid.