Kyiv's counterattacks have tactical, operational, and strategic implications.
The number of "red zones" in the border Sumy region has increased, meaning areas that are coming under Russian control, including entire settlements, analysts from DeepState reported.
According to their data, the occupied area near the village of Hrabovske, which came under enemy control in December 2025, has expanded to an area of 45 sq. km. Analysts claim that the enemy has also moved into two nearby settlements - Popivka and Vysoke.
Additionally, they report that the Russians have entered the settlement of Sopych, and they were "well-equipped, heavily shielding themselves with local residents during their raid." Further south, the settlement of Komarivka has transitioned into a "red zone," noted DeepState.
"At the same time, there are a large number of gray zones along the border, where the enemy is being recorded, probing the situation and will definitely take advantage of it when possible. In particular, the enemy is thus forming a buffer zone on our territory to secure their border, have observation areas to ensure information availability before any of our maneuvers, as there are areas where the enemy simply sets up an observation post with several or even one soldier," analysts explained.
Ukrainian defense forces are conducting an offensive operation in the south, and they have already managed to liberate almost the entire territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region. This was reported by Major General Oleksandr Komarenko, head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
"More than 400 square kilometers of our territory have already been liberated. In a slightly smaller area, the rear zone has been cleared of enemy personnel that had infiltrated there. Almost the entire territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region has been liberated. Three small settlements remain to be worked on and two more to be cleared," he said.
He added that due to these successes, more territory has been liberated in February than lost. Komarenko also mentioned that this was a planned offensive operation that went through all approval and coordination procedures. It is being conducted by airborne assault troops and assault troops with the support of mechanized brigades that are defending in this direction.
Commenting on the situation at the front, the general noted that it is "difficult but controllable." The most challenging areas remain the Pokrovsk and Oleksandrivka directions, where the enemy has concentrated its main efforts.
"But gradually we are stabilizing the situation through our active actions. Currently, the number of enemy attacks in the areas of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad has somewhat decreased due to the redeployment of their troops to the Oleksandrivka direction," the general added.
He further stated that during the spring campaign, the priority directions for the Russians will remain the Pokrovsk, Oleksandrivka, and Zaporizhzhia directions.
"These are the areas of concentration of their main efforts to achieve the tasks they set for themselves. Firstly, complete control over the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. Secondly, maximum advancement in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions," he explained.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Ukrainian defenders managed to regain control over approximately 400-435 sq. km of territory.
As analysts from ISW point out, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are counterattacking not only in the Oleksandrivka and Huliaipole directions but also in the western part of the Zaporizhzhia region. These counterattacks have tactical, operational, and strategic implications that could disrupt Russia's offensive campaign plans in the spring-summer of 2026.
As a result, the Kremlin will likely have to either abandon its previous plans for a spring-summer offensive or significantly adjust them - either in the Donetsk region, the Zaporizhzhia region, or both.
