Russia has reportedly advanced into Ukraine's eastern regions, including Sumy, Kharkiv, and Donetsk, coinciding with recent changes in Ukraine's defence ministry and armed forces leadership. Both Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskii were dismissed within a week.

Ukrainian soldiers in Donetsk have expressed concern that Russia is "effectively cutting off" Kostiantynivka, the southernmost of four "fortress cities" Russia aims to capture to control the remaining free territory in the region by the end of 2026. Russian President Vladimir Putin described Kostiantynivka as "the key to liberating the entire territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic."

A Ukrainian soldier told the news outlet Hromadske, "It’s not a question of whether we’ll lose [it] or not – we’ve effectively already lost it. If there’s a large number of Russians there, you can’t really say we’re holding it."

Shortly before his dismissal on July 21, Oleksandr Syrskii offered a more optimistic assessment, estimating about 145 Russian infiltrators in the city suffering "significant losses" of roughly 25 per day, as Ukrainian drone units targeted them in urban shelters.

Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS), reported a 12 percent increase in enemy personnel involved in offensive operations along the front line compared to June, and an 18 percent increase compared to May, based on SBS intelligence analysis.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he received intelligence indicating Russia is preparing an "expanded mobilisation" to offset losses of 225,000 personnel this year, compared to recruitment of 221,000.

In June, Mykhailo Fedorov announced a plan to attract foreign fighters by raising front-line soldier salaries to $7,000 per month, expressing belief that foreigners could constitute 50 percent of front-line or attack aircraft personnel.

Meanwhile, Brovdi’s forces continued strikes against Crimea’s electricity and fuel infrastructure, hitting 37 electricity substations and four oil tankers in one week, totaling 164 electricity nodes and 205 tankers struck in July across the Black and Azov seas.

Sources