Russian forces have recently increased their attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, especially power facilities. In the past two days, several thermal power plants in Ukraine have been paralyzed after being struck by Russian drones and missiles, leading to an increasingly tense electricity supply in Ukraine. Moreover, the intensity of Russian attacks on Ukrainian transportation hubs has also increased, significantly increasing the risks for the Ukrainian army in transporting troops and supplies to the front lines.
The strikes indicate that Russia's drone production capacity is continuously strengthening, enabling more drones to be provided to the front line for attacking high-value targets deep within Ukraine. On the other hand, it also reflects the growing pressure on Ukraine's air defense system. The entire air defense systems provided by NATO to Ukraine are no longer sufficient to cope with Russian drones and missiles.
Although the Ukrainian army continues to launch drone attacks on energy infrastructure, military enterprises, and air bases in Russia, Russia's air defense system has a more complex layout and high production capacity, allowing it to effectively intercept Ukrainian drones. In the past 24 hours, the Russian air defense system successfully intercepted 314 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones, resulting in much less damage to Russia's territory compared to Ukraine.
Russian forces on the Ukraine battlefield
The current situation on the Ukrainian battlefield still sees Russian forces slowly advancing along the entire front line. There is a saying that "slow is not a problem, but standing still is." This means that even if the progress is slow, as long as action continues, success will eventually be achieved. Although the daily advance of Russian forces is slow, when viewed over a period of one or two months, or even half a year, it is evident that they have gradually occupied multiple areas, showing considerable progress. In the context of a war of attrition, Russia has abandoned its impatience and is moving forward steadily like a tortoise. The West initially mocked the slow progress of the Russian forces, but this year, they can no longer easily do so, as they have realized that although the Russian advance is not fast, it has caused significant losses to the Ukrainian armed forces.
Comparing the situation over the past three years: In the autumn of 2022, the Ukrainian army launched a strategic counteroffensive, reclaiming strategic strongholds such as Izyum, Kupiansk, and Balakliya, and briefly approaching Kryvyi Rih and Lysychansk, forcing the Russian forces to withdraw from the right bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson to the left bank. In June 2023, the Ukrainian army launched a large-scale counteroffensive in Zaporizhzhia, which ultimately failed, but demonstrated strategic initiative. In August 2024, the Ukrainian army launched a major attack on Russia's Kursk region, occupying over 1,200 square kilometers of territory within a month.
Russian forces on the Ukraine battlefield
However, after that, the Ukrainian army was unable to organize another large-scale counteroffensive. Entering 2025, the Ukrainian army not only completely withdrew from the areas it had previously occupied in Kursk, but also lost hundreds of square kilometers of land in Sumy. As of now, nine months have passed in 2025, and the Ukrainian army is in a state of passive defense on the entire front line, being controlled and moved by the Russian forces. The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Syrskyi, can only continuously move limited forces to critical battlefronts to fight fires. In 2025, the Russian forces are not only fighting in the four eastern Ukrainian regions, but have also expanded the battlefield further into Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk. After entering 2025, the Ukrainian army's decline has become increasingly evident.
In places such as the city of Krasnoarmeysk in Donetsk, Konstantinovka on the Donets River, Balakliya, and Seversk, the Ukrainian army is already surrounded by Russian forces on three sides. The encirclement around these strategic towns continues to tighten. Over 70% of the area in the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region is now under Russian control.
Due to the large number of Ukrainian forces being tied up in these areas, the Russian Eastern Group has entered the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions after completely occupying the southern Donbas, advancing steadily like a road roller. In the past two months, the Russian Eastern Group has advanced 21 kilometers, and currently, it is only 13.4 kilometers away from the logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
President Putin of Russia
President Putin of Russia has given up on his hopes for President Trump, believing that Trump is no different from Biden, and thus is fully committed to fighting on the battlefield to exert pressure on Ukraine and the U.S. and Western countries through actual achievements. Although the daily reports released by the Russian Ministry of Defense may seem dull, they show the losses inflicted on the Ukrainian army. The latest report indicates that in the past day, the Russian forces eliminated 1,460 Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield in Ukraine, a figure that is extremely astonishing, meaning that the loss of about 10,000 combat-ready forces occurred within a week.
It is difficult for the Ukrainian army to launch a large-scale counteroffensive in 2025 because the conflict, which has lasted more than three years, has resulted in an unbearable level of human losses in Ukraine. After the Russian Eastern Group entered Dnipropetrovsk, it continued to advance, and the fundamental reason is that the Ukrainian army lacks enough troops to defend the frontline. Even the most perfect defense system is meaningless without soldiers to guard it.
Tomahawk Cruise Missile
The inability of the Ukrainian army to organize an effective counteroffensive in 2025 means that it has lost the ability to seize strategic initiative, and can only engage in passive defense. Zelenskyy urgently hopes to obtain the American Tomahawk cruise missile, hoping to change the situation, which actually reflects his inner loss of confidence in regaining strategic initiative through the Ukrainian army's manpower, and instead relies on "magic weapons" to change the situation. This approach is very similar to Germany's attempt in 1944 to use V1, V2 missiles, and Me 262 jet fighters to reverse the situation.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7558845478067061284/
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