Proof of Russia’s poor efficiency in its struggle in Ukraine, each militarily and economically, has been mounting over the previous week.
The US Defence Intelligence Company (DIA) has confirmed earlier assessments that Russia has misplaced territory it beforehand occupied in Ukraine.
“Ukraine retook roughly 400 sq. kilometres in and round Dnipropetrovsk – extra territory than at any time since late 2022 – in the course of the quarter,” a report back to Congress revealed on Could 18.
Russia has nonetheless made a web territorial acquire in 2026, however its advance is slowing down, based on the Institute for the Examine of Struggle (ISW), a Washington-based suppose tank.
The ISW discovered that Russia superior by a web 104 sq km (40 sq miles) between January 1 and Could 26, 2026, in comparison with its seizure of 1,619 sq km (625 sq miles) throughout the identical interval final yr.
It mentioned Russian forces had infiltrated and contested one other 628 sq km (242.5 sq miles), however didn’t take management.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned Russian casualties had elevated to 145,000 this yr, of which 86,000 have been killed and 59,000 troops severely wounded.
Ukraine says it has drone video of every confirmed kill.
Al Jazeera can not confirm casualty claims by both facet.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, mentioned it meant 179 Russian losses per sq. kilometre of advance, in comparison with 67 final yr.
That fee is greater than what Ukraine has assessed Russia is presently in a position to change via recruitment.
Russia’s struggle can also be turning into tougher to finance. Having exceeded its whole 2026 finances deficit allowance by April, and gutted its international change reserves, Russia has been drawing down gold reserves at an unprecedented tempo.
In keeping with its Central Bank, Russia has offered 27.9 tonnes of its gold reserves this yr, value greater than $4bn. That leaves Russian gold reserves at their lowest for the reason that starting of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russian and Ukrainian aerial techniques
The DIA attributed Ukraine’s clawback of 400 sq km (154.5 sq miles) of its territory to Russia shedding entry to Starlink satellite tv for pc providers used for focusing on and counter-battery fireplace.
Ukraine attributes its success to its technique of interdicting Russian logistics via mid-range drone and artillery strikes.
Fedorov mentioned Ukraine was doubling down on this technique via a programme known as Logistical Lockdown, “to scale up middle-strike and systematically destroy Russian capabilities on the operational depth”.
Ukraine says this tactic has prevented reinforcements of males and gear from reaching the frontlines, diminishing Russia’s superiority in depth of assets and mass.
On Could 21, Kherson occupation governor Vladimir Saldo restricted motion alongside the M-14 freeway connecting Mariupol, Berdyansk and Melitopol, due to the variety of automobiles being struck there.
Ukraine acquired a lift to its efforts to cease Russian glide bombs, which have devastated frontline positions. Russia drops roughly 3,000 of them per week, and has retrofitted them with steerage programs and fins to allow them to journey as much as 100km. That has allowed Russian plane to fly them to launch factors which might be out of vary of Ukrainian anti-aircraft artillery.
On Could 28, Sweden introduced it could donate 16 Gripen warplanes to Ukraine, which might additionally buy an extra 20 via the EU’s Ukraine Help Mortgage in a deal value $2.9bn.
“Now we have by no means had sufficient air defence programs to shoot down such bombs,” Zelenskyy mentioned. “Subsequently, Gripen fighters with applicable weapons, particularly Meteor missiles, which destroy targets at a distance of greater than 200 kilometres, will assist us push again Russian plane.”
Individually, Ukraine continued its long-range strikes on the Russian oil economic system, which funds the struggle.
On Could 23 Ukraine struck an oil depot and offloading terminal at Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, inflicting fires and hitting a Russian tanker.
The next day Ukraine struck the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal, additionally on the Black Sea.
As well as, army and industrial websites have been attacked, together with the Metafrax Chemical compounds plant in Perm, 1,700 kilometres inside Russia, and the Taganrog Airbase in Rostov, inflicting a hearth at an plane restore plant.
Russia strikes Kyiv
Russia pursued its personal aerial tactic of striking Kyiv via huge mixed assaults of drones and missiles, which might overwhelm Ukrainian defences.
On Could 24, Russia launched 600 long-range drones and 90 missiles in opposition to Kyiv and surrounding areas, together with 36 ballistic missiles. Ukraine managed to shoot down 91 % of the drones and 81 % of the cruise missiles, whereas 19 missiles possible missed their targets. People who did hit their targets broken the Ukrainian international ministry and Cupboard of Ministers constructing, in addition to two museums and a meals market.
No less than 87 folks have been injured, Zelenskyy mentioned, and two have been instantly confirmed to have been killed.
Russia framed the assaults as retaliation for what it mentioned was a strike on a school in occupied Luhansk two days earlier. Russian President Vladimir Putin described that as “a terror assault on a pupil dormitory of the Starobilsk pedagogical school”, and mentioned it had killed six college students and injured 39.
Ukraine’s Normal Employees mentioned it was a strike on a centre for Superior Unmanned Applied sciences run by Rubikon, Russia’s unmanned programs drive.
Russia has justified strikes on city centres up to now as being assaults on army command centres. On Could 25, Russian Overseas Minister Sergei Lavrov knowledgeable his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, that Russia would start hanging “army websites” in Kyiv in retaliation for Starobilsk.
The Russian international ministry described the marketing campaign as “a collection of systematic strikes in opposition to Ukrainian military-industrial complicated services in Kyiv,” and implied foreigners could be focused at “particular websites for the design, manufacturing, programming, and preparation for the usage of drones employed by the Kyiv regime with the help of NATO specialists liable for supplying elements, offering intelligence and steerage.”
Russia mentioned “decision-making centres and command posts” would even be focused, and warned foreign citizens, together with diplomats, to go away.
Moscow additionally made some extent of mentioning that one of many missiles used within the Could 24 assault on Kyiv was its latest, the Oreshnik intermediate vary missile, which it has additionally forward-positioned in Belarus.
