Russian troops currently enjoy a threefold superiority in forces and equipment which rises to a four to six times advantage in some key areas, according to Oleksandr Syrsky Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
In a Facebook post, Syrsky said that in August Russia aimed to gain a strategic advantage, break through Ukrainian defenses, and encircle troops in the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad area.
Large-scale offensives were also planned in the Novopavlivka and Zaporizhzhia directions, he added. However, Ukraine’s Defense Forces prevented these plans from succeeding. Russian troops were forced to postpone their offensive in Zaporizhzhia and redeploy marine units to the Donetsk region.
“In fact, the month when the Russian military made maximum efforts to break through became a month of relatively small territorial gains,” Syrsky said.
According to him, Russian forces are relying on a “creeping” advance by small infantry groups, trying to infiltrate settlements, move through gaps between positions, and avoid direct clashes.
Syrsky added that in August the AFU concentrated on holding back Russian advances, inflicting losses, and retaking lost ground. Ukrainian troops also defended cities from missile and drone strikes while carrying out deep strikes inside Russia.
He reported that the AFU completed its transition to a corps system: “This reform is starting to bear fruit. The command of troops is becoming more efficient and effective.”
In August, Ukrainian forces regained control of 58 square kilometers (22.4 square miles) and liberated several settlements, Syrsky said.
In the Dobropillia sector, Russian forces captured 13.5 square kilometers (5.2 square miles) but lost 25.5 square kilometers (9.8 square miles). In the Pokrovsk sector, they gained 5 square kilometers (1.9 square miles), while Ukrainian troops retook 26 square kilometers (10 square miles).
In the Huliaipole and Prydniprovske sectors, Ukrainian forces held their positions.
In the Northern-Slobozhansky sector, Ukraine regained 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles).
During this period, Ukrainian deep strike weapons hit 60 targets inside Russia. Drones struck over 67,000 Russian objects, and the effectiveness of the mid range strike program rose by 25%.
Russian losses in August amounted to 28,790 personnel, bringing their total casualties in 2025 to 297,350, Syrsky said.
“We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are defending our land, and we are on the right course: to exhaust the enemy, to destroy it, to achieve the results that Ukraine needs,” he added.
In a separate interview with ABC News, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was asked what victory means for his embattled country.
“Putin’s goal is to occupy Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
“[Putin] wants, of course, to occupy us totally. For him, this [is] victory. And until he can do it, the victory is on our side. So that’s why for us to survive is a victory. Because we are surviving with our identity, with our country, with our independence.”