Ukraine war briefing: ‘With precision, as planned’ – Kyiv outlines battlefield gains

Zelenskyy announces recapture of 745 sq km in Oleksandrivskyi sector; plea from stranded Ukrainian frontline troops. What we know on day 1,632 Ukrainian forces have ⁠recaptured 745 sq km (288 sq miles) of Russian-occupied land in a key sector this year, Volodymyr Zelenskyy ⁠has said. “This offensive operation of ours was carried out with precision – exactly as planned.” Ukraine’s president outlined gains broadly in line with assessments from the well-regarded Ukrainian open-source group DeepState. Russia’s battlefield advances have ​slowed this year across much of the front, analysts ​say, though Russian ‌forces still threaten cities in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. The Russian military still regularly announces the “capture” of villages, though observers say these are often shortlived flag-raising incursions involving a handful of troops. “From January to August of this year, our warriors of the airborne assault forces and other units carried out an effective offensive operation in the Oleksandrivskyi sector … Russian losses amounted to at least 9,550 people killed and more than 6,600 people wounded.” Ukraine’s “exchange fund” was also rep