Zelenskyy announced parity between the occupied and liberated territories
Ukrainian defense forces have almost completely liberated the Dnipropetrovsk region from Russian troops. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, approximately 10 square kilometers remain under Russian control—three small villages where, as the president claims, there are virtually no Russian troops left.
“This year, we have almost liberated the Dnipropetrovsk region. This is an important achievement. Only 10 square kilometers remain to be brought back under our control. These are three small villages, and there are virtually no enemy forces there anymore,” the president said. According to Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian military is also conducting another operation on a different section of the front. The outcome of that operation is expected to be known by the end of August.
The president separately discussed the overall situation regarding occupied and liberated territories since the beginning of 2026. According to his data, Russian troops have occupied approximately 990 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory since the start of the year. At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have regained control of approximately 820 square kilometers.
Zelenskyy stated that by the end of the year, Ukraine expects to balance these figures. In other words, the area of territory seized by Russia during 2026 should equal the area of land that the Ukrainian military has regained control of during the same period. “We believe that in 2026, the amount of Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by Russia will equal the amount we have liberated,” the president noted.
He emphasized that what matters to Ukraine is not only the movement of the front line itself but also the overall balance of territorial changes. “In other words, our Defense Forces are recapturing Ukrainian lands—this is very important, and this balance is significant for us both politically and diplomatically,” Zelenskyy said.
According to the president, Ukraine expects to achieve parity by the end of 2026 in terms of the area of territory that Russia has seized and that the Ukrainian military has been able to liberate since the beginning of the year. Zelenskyy announced this during a conversation with journalists.
Ukraine is continuing negotiations with the U.S. regarding the possibility of using Starlink on Russian territory for Ukrainian defense purposes. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the issue remains on the table, although SpaceX had previously refused to allow such use due to the risk of escalation.
