Military expert Yevhen Dykyi told Radio NV that Russia’s advance in Ukraine has slowed significantly over the past month.

Despite the reduced pace, Russian forces continue to seize Ukrainian territory, leveraging their vast manpower. The most vulnerable areas remain Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast and Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast.

However, Dykyi highlighted a critical issue for the Russian military—severe difficulties in replacing wounded and killed soldiers.

“While the intensity of fighting remains high, Russia’s advance has slowed by about 50%. Their forces are gradually depleting, but the key word is gradually. They mobilized a massive number of troops, but replacing losses has become a major challenge. Recruitment has nearly stopped,” he explained.

Dykyi noted that Russia still has some reserves from the 2022 mobilization, but most of those troops have already been lost. The Russian army now relies primarily on contract soldiers drawn by financial incentives.

“But even that pool is running dry. The problem isn’t the size of the payments—it’s that even in Russia, people are divided into those willing to sell their lives for money and those who are not. The ones who were willing are gone. Recruitment is stalling while losses continue to rise each week,” Dykyi concluded.

Earlier, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, held a meeting on the results the Ukrainian military achieved in January 2025. He stated that the number of units withdrawn for combat readiness restoration had slightly increased during the month.

According to Ukraine’s army chief, key priorities for Ukraine include operations in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, as well as strikes on military targets deep inside Russia. The main efforts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces remain focused on maintaining defensive lines, preventing Russian advances, strengthening troop training, and expanding the use of drones.

Related:

• Frontline Report: Ukrainian garrison withdraws from Velyka Novosilka after Russia cuts supply routes
• Reuters: Russia advances “day and night” at Pokrovsk – while for the first time sparing troops and artillery
• ISW: Ukrainians advance in Kharkiv Oblast and near Donetsk’s Pokrovsk, Russians in few Donetsk directions
• Russia claims capture of Velyka Novosilka in Donetsk Oblast; Ukrainian military contests claim