Ukraine army chief says war turning point is far off

Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Friday that a turning point in the war with Russia was still “a long way off”, even as he cited recent gains and a slowdown in Russian advances.

In a social media post reviewing the first half of the year, Syrsky said the number of active offensive fronts had decreased and Russian assaults had fallen by half. He said the two sides had “effectively reached parity” in their rate of advance, but warned that Russia should not be underestimated.

Kyiv's forces have halted the Russian advance across much of the front line in recent months and carried out long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries. Syrsky said Ukraine had hit 697 targets inside Russia over the past six months.

Russia announced in early July that it had captured Kostyantynivka, a town in the eastern Donetsk region that is a key Ukrainian stronghold. Ukraine has advanced in other areas. Institute for the Study of War data analysed by AFP showed Ukraine recaptured 403 square kilometres during April and May, signalling a slowdown in Russia's offensive since the end of 2025.

Syrsky also said Russia had increased the intensity of missile and drone strikes on civilian areas. Ukraine's foreign ministry said Russian attacks had killed at least 93 people and wounded more than 500 since the start of July.