Ukraine Has Retaken 288 Sq Miles in Operation This Year, Zelenskyy Says

Ukrainian forces have recaptured 288 square miles of Russian-occupied territory across the southeastern front, ‌Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced, saying the operation was carried out “with precision—exactly as planned.”In an Aug. 12 post on X, Zelenskyy said that from January through August, 26 villages in the Dnipro, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, or regions, were returned to Ukrainian control as part of the Oleksandrivka counteroffensive operations.“This offensive operation of ours was carried out with precision—exactly as planned,” he said.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its Aug. 12 Russia-Ukraine war campaign assessment that it had calculated that Ukrainian forces had recaptured roughly 242 square miles of territory in the Oleksandrivka direction and northern part of the Hulyaipole direction, where Kyiv also counter-attacked, between Jan. 29 and Aug. 12.The ISW said its own conservative mapping methodology “likely underestimates Ukrainian advances.”“The Oleksandrivka counteroffensive operations showcase Ukraine’s ability to make relatively significant tactical advances and reintroduce limited aspects of mechanized maneuver on localized segments of the frontline,” the ISW said.As well as operations to regain territory, Ukrainian forces have been conducting long- and mid-range drone offensives against Russian military and energy infrastructure.Russian Oil Refinery HitOn Aug. 13, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement that the Defense Forces had conducted a deep strike against the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refining complex in the Republic of Bashkortostan, in the Urals Mountains some 800 miles from Ukraine.“Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat is one of the largest oil refining and petrochemical complexes in the Russian Federation,” the general staff said in a statement, adding that the complex produces automotive gasoline, diesel, bitumen, and other petroleum products.The refinery was involved in supplying the Russian army, according to the statement.The armed forces said in a separate statement that it had conducted a series of strikes on military facilities in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, including the Nebo-U radar station in Sevastopol, a drone control point in Zaporizhzhia, and a fuel depot in the Luhansk region.“Defeating these facilities weakens the enemy’s capabilities, disrupts its logistical support, and reduces the ability to accumulate and use ammunition, equipment, and personnel,” the Ukrainian military said in the statement.Russian Strikes on PortMeanwhile, Russia struck the port of Izmail on the Danube, near the Romanian border in Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa.Ukrainian authorities said the strikes caused damage to port infrastructure and started a fire.The port of Izmail is Ukraine’s largest grain export hub. Around 90 percent of Ukraine’s exports of such crops go through the Black Sea.Ukraine is among the world’s largest producers of wheat, corn, ​and sunflower seeds, supplying around 6 percent of the world’s wheat and around 11 percent of its corn.Moscow and Kyiv have been conducting strikes on each other’s critical infrastructure and ports.On Aug. 12, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had hit a Russian naval stronghold in Novorossiysk, which he described as “the last major stronghold of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea.”⁠Moscow moved some of its Black Sea fleet to Novorossiysk after Kyiv’s military forces repeatedly attacked them when they were based in Crimea.On Aug. 11, the Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces had conducted overnight strikes on military-related logistics centers in Kyiv and hit a major steel works in Zaporizhzhia.It said that in the Ukrainian capital, they struck the Nova Poshta sorting facility, which distributes and stores dual-use goods, including components for the production of medium- and long-range drones, as well as systems for electronic warfare and robotics.The ministry also said it hit the Kyiv-3 transport and logistics center, which stores attack drones.Reuters contributed to this report.