08 Jun 2026

By  ELIANA SILVER, SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER

Ukrainian forces have recaptured more than 600 square km of territory since the start of 2026, Ukraine’s top army commander claimed, as the tide is turning in Ukraine’s favour.

Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Monday that in May alone, Ukraine recaptured 100 more square km of territory than it lost.

Writing on Telegram, Syrskyi did not specify where the gains took place, saying only that in separate areas of the frontline, Ukrainian forces continued to maintain the initiative.

Last week, analysis based on data from the Institute for the Study of War found Ukraine retook more territory than it lost in May for the second consecutive month.

Ukraine gained a net 282 square kilometres in the weeks after Russia had already surrendered around 120 square kilometres in April.

Russia occupies around a fifth of its neighbour: the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014, most of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk (Donbas), and large parts of the southern Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. 

But Ukraine’s increasingly effective drone campaigns are disrupting Russia’s ability to move troops and supplies to frontline positions, according to the ISW.

‘Ukraine’s successful mid-range and frontline drone strike campaigns are limiting Russia’s ability to transport personnel to the frontline and to supply and sustain frontline positions,’ the think tank said.

Russian territory gains and losses in eastern Ukraine

January 1 to May 31, 2026

Assessed Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine

as of January 1, 2026

Assessed Russian infiltration areas in Ukraine

as of May 31, 2026

Change in control of terrain from

January 1 to May 

Ukraine‘s increasingly effective long-range drone campaign is piling pressure on  Vladimir Putin, striking at the heart of Russia’s oil industry, embarrassing the Kremlin on the world stage and compounding a growing list of military and economic setbacks. 

Over recent months, Kyiv has repeatedly struck refineries, oil terminals, pumping stations and export facilities deep inside Russian territory. 

But several Ukrainian drones have strayed into the airspace of Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, stoking concerns that the war in Ukraine is spilling over into NATO’s northern borders.

Ukraine has blamed the incidents on Russia affecting the drone paths with electromagnetic warfare.

On Monday, French military Rafale fighter jet shot down a drone that entered NATO country Latvia’s airspace from Russia, the latest in a series of such security incidents along Europe’s eastern border regions. 

The Latvian army, without saying who had launched the drone, said it had entered from Russia ‘as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare’.

On Monday, French military Rafale fighter jet shot down a drone that entered NATO country Latvia’s airspace from Russia, the latest in a series of such security incidents along Europe’s eastern border regions. 

The Latvian army, without saying who had launched the drone, said it had entered from Russia ‘as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare’.

‘Allied fighter jets successfully shoot down a drone flying into Latvian airspace!’ it said in a post on social media X.

Authorities had earlier on Monday warned people in eastern Latvian regions to seek shelter indoors because of the threat. 

The alert ended when the drone was shot down, the army said, but another air threat warning was issued later on Monday for eastern residents.   Ukraine’s attacks come at a particularly difficult moment for Putin as warnings grow that Russia’s economy is coming under severe pressure.

Officials are reportedly debating spending cuts as the Kremlin struggles to balance the soaring costs of the war. 

Domestically, cuts have been proposed to defence spending, with officials advising it will be difficult to fix Russia’s stretched finances without finding a solution.

Meanwhile, GCHQ chief Anne Keast-Butler revealed that almost half a million Russian soldiers have now been killed since the invasion began.

She said: ‘Putin is going backwards on the battlefield with new intelligence showing that almost half a million Russian soldiers have now been killed since the conflict began.’

The figure is significantly higher than previous public estimates and underlines the staggering losses Russia has suffered during more than four years of war. 

And as Russia loses troops, territory and morale, European leaders are taking the chance to push for renewed peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

The leaders of Britain, Germany and France said on ‌Sunday they supported a proposal for talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to try to secure a ceasefire, and Europe would play a role.

In a joint statement, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron commended Zelensky’s call for an end to the war and the proposal for direct dialogue between Ukraine and Russia, with active US and European participation.

The three leaders, who head an informal security alliance called the E3 that is one of Ukraine’s main sources of international support, were joined on Sunday by Zelensky in Downing Street.

‘Leaders ⁠commended President Zelensky’s call for an end to the war, negotiated by diplomatic means, as set out in his letter to the president,’ Sunday’s joint statement said.

Zelensky said in a post on X that he also told Starmer Ukraine needed more missiles for air defence systems, just days after he published an open letter to Putin proposing face-to-face talks about ending the war, now in its fifth year. 

Zelensky’s proposal was rebuffed by the Russian president.

In his letter, Zelensky said Russians had grown tired of Ukrainian missile and drone attacks, high inflation and fuel shortages, and were ready for peace.

He also said that, with the US focused on the conflict in Iran, ‘It would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the centre of its attention’.

Putin said the offer did not come across as sincere and he currently saw no point in meeting, adding an agreement for the long term was needed.

In London, Zelensky was meeting the three leaders after ‌his country ⁠had recently been hit by some of the biggest Russian air raids since the start of the 2022 war, including on Kyiv.

‘Russia is not winning on the battlefield, and our mid-range strikes and deep strikes are significantly limiting its ability to expand its aggression. But it is also extremely important to have protection against ballistic threats, with which the Russians are terrorizing our cities and communities,’ Zelensky said.

The European leaders and Zelensky set out the conditions that would need to be in place to secure a ‘just and lasting peace’, starting ⁠with an immediate and complete ceasefire.

They said the current line of contact should be the starting point for talks, that Ukraine should have legally binding security guarantees, including the deployment of a multinational force, and that Russian assets would remain immobilised until Russia had compensated Ukraine for the damage caused by the war.

Both sides accused each other of renewed attacks on civilians Sunday.

A Russian bombardment of a public transport stop in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region left at least two people dead, while a nearby drone strike killed a 56-year-old minibus driver, authorities said.

Separate Russian attacks on the central Dnipropetrovsk region killed two men, governor Oleksandr Ganzha posted on Telegram.

In Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike on a car in the Belgorod border region killed a woman and injured her husband, local authorities said.

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https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15882281/Ukraine-recaptured-600-square-kilometres-2026-Kyiv-claims-growing-sign-tide-war-turned-against-Putin.html