{"id":139980,"date":"2026-05-27T14:58:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T14:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2026\/05\/27\/senior-ukrainian-commander-sees-imminent-turning-point-in-war\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:22:15","slug":"senior-ukrainian-commander-sees-imminent-turning-point-in-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/ukraine\/2026\/05\/27\/senior-ukrainian-commander-sees-imminent-turning-point-in-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Senior Ukrainian commander sees imminent \u2018turning point\u2019 in war"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ukraine<\/a> has a six-month window in which to seize the battlefield initiative from Russia<\/a> and strengthen its hand for peace talks, a senior commander told Reuters, predicting a \u201cturning point\u201d was imminent after more than four years of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian forces have made grinding gains since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine<\/a> in February 2022, but the advances have slowed this year and Ukrainian troops are increasing pressure on the battlefield<\/a> to try to push them back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, who commands Ukraine\u2019s Third Army Corps<\/a>, one of Ukraine\u2019s most respected fighting forces, told Reuters in an interview that he believes Russia\u2019s army is exhausted and incapable of making major breakthroughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Ukraine\u2019s military can build and maintain momentum over several months, it can gain the initiative along the frontline and push Russia to abandon its designs on the last part of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine that it does not yet occupy, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe the next six to nine months are a turning point,\u201d Biletsky said at an undisclosed underground location in the northeastern Kharkiv region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore precisely, I think the next six are the most critical,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue of who controls Donetsk has been a stumbling block in U.S.-backed peace talks that have stalled, with Russia wanting the entire region and Ukraine refusing to withdraw from territory that Moscow\u2019s troops have been unable to conquer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to define those directions where we can improve our positions, take some strategic points, and then speak with the Russians from a position of strength – not weakness – about a truly stable truce,\u201d said Biletsky, a right-wing political leader who founded the battle-hardened Azov Battalion and now commands tens of thousands of troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom a military point of view, this is realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Brig. Gen. Andriy Biletsky of the Third Army Corps of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at an undisclosed location in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, May 21, 2026. (Thomas Peter\/Reuters)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed victory in Ukraine and said this month he thinks the war is nearing an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018CRITICAL\u2019 MONTHS AHEAD<\/b><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Russia\u2019s advances have been complicated by a decision by billionaire Elon Musk to deny Moscow\u2019s forces access to his Starlink satellite-based internet service. Kyiv has meanwhile stepped up medium-range drone attacks on Russian air defenses and logistics, helping more long-range strikes get through to hit oil and military facilities in Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week Ukraine had retaken nearly 600 square km (230 square miles) of territory in 2026. Reuters could not independently verify the figure. Moscow currently controls almost one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assessing the military situation, John Helin of the Finland-based Black Bird conflict-analysis group echoed Biletsky in saying fatigue was a problem for Russian forces, while Ukraine\u2019s war effort is hampered by a manpower shortage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt does seem like, four or five months into this year, it\u2019s much more likely that the Russians will get exhausted before the Ukrainian problems come to a breaking point,\u201d he told Reuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War said Kyiv\u2019s forces were now \u201cactively challenging the positional character of the war\u201d and could soon be capable of staging limited mechanized assaults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018FORTRESS BELT\u2019<\/b><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Russian troops are bearing down on eastern Ukraine\u2019s \u201cFortress Belt\u201d where fighting is raging inside the strategic city of Kostiantynivka, its southern end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The constellation of heavily fortified cities anchors Ukrainian defenses. Capturing it would position Russia to threaten the rest of the Donbas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biletsky, whose forces hold over one-tenth of the total front line, said his troops were firmly holding the flank around Sloviansk, the belt\u2019s northern bastion, and forcing Russia to attack the city head-on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such costly assaults have helped drain Russian forces and led to heavy losses of field commanders, he said, in what he described as a professional degradation of Moscow\u2019s military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe lack of personnel no longer allows them to advance the way they did, for example, a year ago,\u201d said Biletsky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biletsky said it was too early to draw conclusions from Kyiv\u2019s recent success, but that Ukraine could capitalize on it by continuing mid-range attacks and advancing \u201ccarefully\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moscow is \u201cradically losing\u201d in battlefield communications because of Musk\u2019s crackdown on use of Starlink, Biletsky said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he described the sides at parity in evolving technology – with Ukraine leading in unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and heavy bomber drones, and Russia winning the race for fibre-optic drones, which cannot be jammed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A potential blueprint for a modernized Ukrainian army, his corps has led efforts to transform training and integrate new technology such as UGVs as an important part of its battlefield strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biletsky\u2019s units lead the way in deploying stealthy kamikaze drones and robots armed with machine guns or rocket launchers to replace significant portions of infantrymen, aiming for 30% by 2027, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next \u201crevolution\u201d will allow commanders to stage more \u201ccreative\u201d combined assault operations while conserving precious troops, Biletsky said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt will happen this year, and I think we\u2019ll show how our corps is a vivid example of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ukraine has a six-month window in which to seize the battlefield initiative from Russia and strengthen its hand for peace talks, a senior commander 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