Russia’s push toward the Hulyaipole sector is stalling despite repeated attempts to break through. Ukrainian forces are destroying infiltration groups and reporting heavy enemy losses.
Ukrainian troops continue to hold back pressure from Russian forces around Hulyaipole. Military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko says Russia’s bid to achieve a rapid breakthrough there has ended in a serious setback with major losses.
By his estimate, in January Russian forces seized about 231 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory - nearly half the pace of previous months. At the same time, personnel losses reached nearly 32,000. The ratio of losses - roughly 137 killed for every kilometer gained - is significantly worse than 2025 averages.
That is a clear sign of the Russian military’s exhaustion, Kovalenko notes.
For more than two months, Hulyaipole has remained a major obstacle to Russia’s plans. Moscow sought to quickly establish a bridgehead there for a further strike toward Zaporizhzhia and to reach the right bank of the Haichul River. The plan failed: the town is holding, and Russian units are bogged down, forced to operate in small infiltration groups.
Recent attempts by Russian forces to exploit freezing weather and cross the frozen Haichul River also ended in failure. Ukrainian units, employing ground robotic systems and FPV drones, destroyed or neutralized assault groups. Some were taken prisoner.
