Ukraine regains over 200 sq km in five days – AFP

Ivan Diakonov - 17 February, 01:23

Ukrainian soldier. Stock photo: Getty Images

Ukraine's defence forces have regained 201 sq km of territory from Russian troops between 11 and 15 February, marking the fastest advance by Ukrainian forces in more than two and a half years.

Source: AFP's analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), as reported by France24

Details: The area of liberated territory is said to be almost equal to the total gains made by Russian forces over the whole of December 2025.

This is Ukraine's largest territorial success over such a short period since the counteroffensive launched in June 2023.

"These Ukrainian counterattacks are likely leveraging the recent block on Russian forces' access to Starlink, which Russian milbloggers have claimed is causing communications and command and control (C2) issues on the battlefield," the ISW report said.

The main Ukrainian advance has been recorded roughly 80 kilometres east of Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces had been making gains since the summer of 2025. Ukrainian forces have also regained control of territory on the Kharkiv, Kostiantynivka, Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka fronts.

Background:

Earlier, Russian Shahed drones began using Starlink satellite communications to bypass electronic warfare systems and conduct more precise strikes on targets inside Ukraine.
From 2 February, Ukraine, together with SpaceX, introduced terminal verification from 2 February.
On 5 February, military observers reported widespread disruptions to the Starlink systems used by Russian forces along the line of contact.
On 10 February, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said that Russian forces were blackmailing the families of Ukrainian POWs, forcing them to register Starlink terminals in their own names.
On 12 February, it emerged that the 256th Cyber Assault Division, together with InformNapalm and MILITAN, had collected information on 2,420 Russian Starlink terminals and the precise positions of Russian forces in order to block them.

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