Ukraine has recaptured territory near the Donbas town of Sviatohirsk, which Vladimir Putin had claimed was safely in Russian hands, according to open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts. The offensive has been described as the most important attack of 2026.
Ukraine's advance near Sviatohirsk
OSINT analysts believe Ukraine has secured 77 square miles of territory following an offensive near the town. Putin had boasted that generals told him they had captured 14 towns in the Donbas region, 'including… as of yesterday, the town of Sviatohirsk', he said on September 1.
New analysis shows Ukrainian forces have recaptured the area, with one video showing a Ukrainian commander strolling through what was once Russian-held soil. 'Take off your clown noses and colourful wigs. There aren’t any Russian soldiers here,' Andriy Biletsky, the Ukrainian commander of the 3rd Army Corps, says in a video posted a few days after Putin’s claims, according to The Telegraph.
Analysts confirm the advance
The attack has been described as the 'most important' of 2026 by Emil Kastehelmi, a military analyst and co-founder of the Black Bird Group. OSINT experts first realised Ukraine was on the march after drone footage disappeared in the area, according to Phil Cowin, from the UA Control Map group.
'Usually you’d see more drone footage, more video,' he said. 'But suddenly around Nove it goes dark – and the Russians weren’t posting any footage of their own attacks as they didn’t want to show the Ukrainians advancing.'
Russian retreat and drone strike
Reportedly, the retreat has been blamed on decisions made by Russian commanders on-the-ground in the Donbas, rather than by the Kremlin directly, by pro-Russian bloggers.
The news comes hours after a Russian drone struck a train near the Ukraine-Poland border on Sunday (September 13) shortly after senior visiting officials — including the former prime ministers of the U.K. and Sweden — passed through, Ukraine’s state rail operator said. According to Ukrzaliznytsia, a diplomatic train carrying Boris Johnson, Carl Bildt and security advisers from several European Union states had purposely left the station at Yahodyn ahead of schedule. The visitors were on their way back from a security conference in Kyiv.
'It is highly probable that the Russian drone’s intended target was in fact the diplomatic train, which had departed the station earlier than scheduled,' the company said in a Telegram post.
