Ukraine deploys new combat model, commander says Russian-held areas recaptured
April 15 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday it had launched a new operational model integrating drone warfare with infantry activities, noting its top commander’s announced successes in retaking territory from Russian forces in the south of the country.
Kiev regained control of about 50 square kilometers (19 square miles) of territory from Russia in March, senior commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said, adding to gains his forces had made since the beginning of the year.
Drones have played an important role in the four-year war between Kyiv and Moscow. Both sides have devoted resources to developing ways to intercept drones and improve air defenses.
“A new combat model, drone attack units, that combines airborne and ground unmanned systems with infantry in a single integrated system, is being introduced,” the Ministry of Defense said in a short statement on Telegram. he said.
“This approach has already yielded results in the south, where a large area has been liberated since February precisely thanks to the use of these advanced units.”
Syrskyi made his assessment of the recaptured regions in a separate statement on Telegram. He also said that as spring weather improved, Russian forces were stepping up offensive operations along almost the entire 1,200 km (775 miles) front line.
Syrskyi said that the region around the embattled eastern city of Pokrovsk, which Russia has been trying to completely capture since mid-2024, was among the places where clashes were most intense in March.
It also identified the Oleksandrivka, Kostiantynivka and Lyman sectors in the southeast and east as the “hottest” spots for the month.
Military analysts said Ukraine’s counter-offensives in the southeast helped disrupt Russian efforts around Pokrovsk and Russia’s spring offensive in general.
Syrskyi said last week that Ukraine had regained control of the 480-square-kilometer region since the end of January, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy this month described the situation on the front line as the best situation for Ukraine since the middle of last year.
Russian forces are engaged in a slow advance in the eastern Donetsk region, frequently announcing the capture of new villages.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday that it had acquired the Vovchansky Khutory settlement in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
The Russian military says it is also trying to establish buffer zones in the border regions of Kharkiv and Sumy.
In his comments on Telegram, Syrskyi said that Ukrainian forces are trying to reduce Russia’s offensive capabilities by maintaining a high tempo of attacks on military, defense industry and other facilities.
In March, Ukraine achieved 76 targets, including 15 facilities in the oil refining industry, he said.
Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russian ports, refineries and fertilizer plants in a bid to restrict Moscow’s income from commodity exports as the Iran war drives up global prices.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Ron Popeski and Matthew Lewis)
