As the full-scale war enters year five, Ukraine pushes back on a crucial front and Russia’s Donbas offensive continues. Meduza analyzes the latest battlefield developments.
Like our earlier reports on the combat situation in Ukraine, this article reviews recent battlefield developments based on open-source information. Meduza has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the outset, and our military analyses reflect our commitment to objective reporting on a war we firmly oppose.
Our map is based exclusively on open-source photos and videos, most of them posted by eyewitnesses on social media. We collect available evidence and determine its geolocation markers, adding only the photos and videos that clear this process. Meduza doesn’t try to track the conflict in real time; the data reflected on the map are typically at least 48 hours old.
Key updates as of February 28, 2026
The Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) continue their counterattacks at the junction of the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk regions. Based on the direction of the strikes, the apparent goal is to cut off Russian troops that had been advancing north of Huliaipole in the Haichur River valley.
Ukrainian brigades redeployed northeast of Huliaipole from the Pokrovsk area have advanced several kilometers and are now fighting for the villages of Ternove and Berezove, in the rear of Russian forces. Russian commanders have yet to respond to the threat. Russian units continue their westward push in the Haichur valley.
Near Pokrovsk, Ukrainian brigades were withdrawn to support the offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Russian troops have since stepped up pressure on Ukrainian defenses there and are advancing toward the city of Dobropillia.
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The Haichur River
Several weeks ago, the Ukrainian military launched counterattacks against Russia’s “Vostok” contingent, which was advancing in the eastern part of the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
The move came after Russian troops crossed the Haichur River at several points and quickly captured what had been regarded as an AFU “stronghold” — the town of Huliaipole. To mount a counteroffensive, the Ukrainian command assembled a new force composed of several assault regiments and air assault brigades. Most of these units had previously spent months unsuccessfully trying to halt the advance of Russia’s “Tsentr” contingent toward Pokrovsk.
At first, the AFU struck Russian units that had pushed beyond the Haichur — to the west of Huliaipole, near Staroukrainka and Zaliznychne, and to the north, near Ternuvate. According to open-source videos, Ukrainian forces managed to retake part of Staroukrainka and temporarily regain control of Ternuvate. Russian troops, however, pressed on, reentering Ternuvate and advancing near Zaliznychne.
The main Ukrainian blow, however, targeted the long northern flank of the “Vostok” contingent. There, the defenses of the Russian forces that had advanced far to the west were anchored along the Vovcha River. Rather than holding a continuous front line, they formed a chain of strongpoints in recently captured villages.
Ukrainian forces held several bridgeheads on the southern bank of the Vovcha and, reinforced by fresh reserves, began advancing southward. They reached the villages of Ternove and Berezove in the rear of the Russian grouping. At the same time, other AFU units advanced toward them from a bridgehead on the Haichur River near the village of Dobropillia (not to be confused with the city of Dobropillia near Pokrovsk).
The clear aim of these counterattacks is to cut off the Russian grouping fighting near Ternuvate and, in the longer term, to reach the Velyka Novosilka–Huliaipole road, thereby complicating the position of Russian units in Huliaipole itself.
So far, the Russian command has not responded to the threat: there are no visible signs of reserves being redeployed toward the Vovcha. The main forces of the “Vostok” contingent continue their attempts to push westward near Ternuvate and Zaliznychne.
Pokrovsk, Dobropillia, and Kostiantynivka
After capturing Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in January following months of fighting, Russian forces repelled Ukrainian counterattacks, consolidated their positions in residential and industrial districts, and renewed their advance toward the city of Dobropillia.
North of Pokrovsk, Russian troops cleared the area around the town of Rodynske and pushed toward abandoned mines to its west. Farther north, they approached the town of Bilytske, which shields Dobropillia from the south. North of Bilytske, Russian forces captured the settlement of Novyi Donbas, where they were met by Ukrainian counterattacks.
To the west of Pokrovsk, Russian troops are storming the large village of Hryshyne along the Pokrovsk–Dnipro road.
If the offensive continues, Russian forces could reach Dobropillia along a broad front. The city is the last major population center under Ukrainian control in western Donetsk. Russian troops previously attempted to seize it in August 2025, when several brigades, exploiting poor coordination between Ukrainian commanders, broke through to the Dobropillia–Kramatorsk road.
At the time, Ukraine’s command had to assemble a “fire brigade” of assault regiments and air assault brigades to cut off the advancing Russian units. Some of those same Russian forces are now attacking near Huliaipole. This time, however, Russian troops have far greater resources available for an assault on Dobropillia.
At the same time, Russian forces have entered a new phase of their assault on Kostiantynivka, east of Pokrovsk. Previously, they had fought street battles — with limited success — only on the city’s southeastern outskirts. Now they’ve managed to break through from the south and southwest, pushing Ukrainian units back from the Kleban-Bykske Reservoir.
Kostiantynivka remains under constant bombardment by Russian aircraft. North of the city, an airstrike destroyed a dam, flooding the Kostiantynivka–Druzhkivka road, the main supply route for the city’s garrison.
Meanwhile, Russian forces are attempting to encircle Kostiantynivka by advancing along the Kazennyi Torets River from Pokrovsk toward Druzhkivka. From the east, near the Siverskyi Donets–Donbas canal, another Russian grouping is also pushing toward Druzhkivka.
Sloviansk
Russian forces continue their advance on Sloviansk and Kramatorsk along the shortest route — the Bakhmut–Sloviansk highway. At the same time, they haven’t abandoned efforts to break through to Sloviansk along the southern bank of the Siverskyi Donets River from Siversk.
To support the offensive, the Russian command has redeployed reserves to the area west of Bakhmut, including the 70th Motor Rifle Division, which had previously been stationed on the banks of the Dnipro near Kherson.
Over the past week, Russian forces have taken part of the village of Nykyforivka and pushed farther west toward Lypivka. Just over 15 kilometers (about nine miles) now separate them from the outskirts of Sloviansk.
This advance on the Kramatorsk–Sloviansk agglomeration will likely soon force the Ukrainian command to deploy another “fire brigade” to the sector.
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Meduza’s Razbor (“Explainers”) team